Daydreams of Maidens in Love
by vendetta543
Summary: Oneshots featuring Ichika being paired with anyone from the harem. Everybody's given a chance, so read and enjoy! New writing style as of Chapter 5. No longer just a Oneshot series, will have more detailed stories on all heroines featured. Kanzashi chapter up.
1. Houki Shinonono

**Authors Notes: Just thought of this and thought I should post it when I get the chance. This is basically a oneshot series featuring Ichika being paired with one of the girls, I apologize if my grammar is bad so please forgive me for that.**

**Chapter 1: Shinonono Houki.**

**Note: As you can see from the title these are daydreams of the heroines so any changes to canon events or how they act are because of their imaginations.**

**I'll also tweak the backstories of the heroines a bit so please bear with me.**

* * *

><p>Shinono Houki was a Maiden in love.<p>

Though she would never admit it to anyone else, she had been in love with her childhood friend Ichika Orimura ever since they were kids.

Houki wasn't very normal when she was a kid. Due to being raised as a shrine maiden she constantly showed a stern façade which always made people call her "demon" and say she was boyish, because of this she had a hard time making friends

She herself didn't care about this.

Houki was fine with being alone, she thought that she wouldn't need any friends and that she should focus on her duties as a shrine maiden.

That was until she met Ichika Orimura.

Ichika was the little brother of Chifuyu Orimura, the childhood friend of her older sister, Shinono Tabane. It would have been inevitable then that the two became friends.

Or so you would think...

Houki was often cold to the energetic young boy, always trying to distance herself in fear of being mocked by him like all the others.

But Ichika never gave up, and slowly but surely her cold heart was melted by his warm kindness.

She spent more and more time with the energetic youth and eventually they became as close as family to one another.

But the people who mocked her had not stopped, and Ichika took it upon himself to help her as much as he could.

Back then he had saved her from bullies and always defended her when people called her "weirdo", "freak", and so on and so forth.

He even got sent to the hospital once when he tried to defend her from a bunch of bullies and got beaten up as a result.

She cried and asked him why he had done that but all he said was: "I didn't want to see Houki-chan cry, pretty girls should smile"

Houki cried even more when she heard his kind words and promised that she would smile as long as she was with him.

As long as she was with him...

They had been separated after her sister had invented the Infinite Stratos, and just like that, her first love was taken from her.

But things weren't completely hopeless.

She was startled one morning upon watching the news and seeing her best friend being interviewed by a bunch of reporters on TV.

"Mr Orimura, what are your plans now that you can pilot an IS?" One of the reporters asked.

"Well I-"

"Do you have plans to be a representative candidate for Japan?" Another reporter interrupted before he could answer.

"What? No! of cou-"

"Do you have any idea why you can pilot an IS?"

"No, I d-"

"That's enough!" A loud voice boomed out towards the reporters.

Chifuyu Orimura walked towards the Cameras before grabbing Ichika from the crowd of reporters.

"He will be attending IS Academy come next week and that's all we'll answer about that."

"BUT-"

"That's all!"

Houki turned off the T.V in shock, her hands numb and her mind blank. Her Best friend,no,,,Her first love was about to come to IS academy, was this God giving her a sign?

"This is my chance!"

Ever since that day she'd been waiting anxiously for next week to come, she didn't what to do. Should she welcome him with open arms? Act casual about it? Would she even remember her?

That was Houki's greatest fear ever since she left: Would Ichika remember her when she left?

It's been 6 years since she last saw him and she wondered how he would be like now that he had a chance to mature.

"I'm sure he'll be a mature person now."

The Ichika she remembered was an energetic person who constantly had a smile on his face. He was clumsy but his earnest attitude made others trust in him.

Finally the day arrived.

"My name is Ichika Orimura, pleased to meet you all"

He looked almost exactly as she remembered him: Dark hair reaching up to his neck framed his handsome face and he still had the same friendly expression.

His body had matured however. She could see the muscles beneath his uniform and the growth he showed reminded her that he was on his way to being a fine young man.

"Um..That's all."

...Or maybe not.

Ichika seemed to act the same as he did six years ago, constantly friendly to people around him and never showing a hint of shyness. Houki didn't know whether this was good or bad.

"Houki, come with me."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

They ate lunch together and discussed how life had been the past few years. Though she would never admit it, it was the most fun she'd had in years.

"I heard you won the national tournament."

"H-How did you know that?"

"I read about it in the newspaper, congratulations Houki."

"Oh, thanks"

Houki felt sad for a moment before straightening herself up, it shouldn't have surprised her that Ichika forgot about the pro-

"Do you still remember our promise Houki?"

"W-What?"

"I said that if you'd won I'd take you out on a date. I know Its late but do you still want to go?"

"YES!"

"O-Okay then. There's a festival in the shrine next week, let's go together."

Houki felt giddy with delight as she walked back into her room.

She didn't know about the surprise waiting for her.

"HOUKI!"

"ICHIKA!"

""What're you doing here!""

"This is my assigned room here, what about you?" Ichika asked her.

"This is MY room, what do you mean you're assigned here?"

"ehehehe, I guess we're roommates then."

Things weren't as awkward as they thought it would be. Being childhood friends they had experience sleeping in the same room. It reminded Houki of her childhood.

The days passed by quickly until finally the day of the festival came.

"Houki, make sure to hold my hand. I don't want to get separated."

"A-Alright."

Houki wore a beautiful pink Yukata which showed her beautiful figure, hopefully this would help her in what she planned to do today.

They made their way around the festival and had as much fun as they could. Buying masks, catching fish and even playing in a shooting range (All of which Ichika lost in.)

Finally, as the festival was coming to a close, the final part of the evening arrived.

"Hey Houki, let's watch the fireworks."

"Alright."

The fireworks were beautiful under the night sky, their many colors cascading down in smooth drizzles and bathing everything around them in a radiant glow.

"Hey Ichikia I-"

"I love you"

"What!"

"S-Sorry! I know this is too sudden but-"

"Shh"

Houki placed her mouth against his as a gesture of silence, the fireworks continued to explode around them and seemed to make the scene as beautiful as a paining.

"I love you too."

Ichika looked shocked before he showed a warm smile and leaned in for anoth-

***Whack***

"Ah!"

"Shinono, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay awake in class."

Houki looked around her and saw that she was at her desk with Chifuyu Orimura standing in front of her. It looks she'd been asleep.

"*Sigh*Why didn't it last longer?"

* * *

><p>Chapter 1 finished! Hopefully it wasn't too bad and if you can please read and review what you think about it.<p>

**If you're interested in this then please say in your review who's daydream you'd like to see next. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Cecilia Alcott

**Chapter 2 of "Daydreams of Maidens in Love", this one is for the British Ojou-sama Cecilia Alcott.**

**Cecilia's chapter is probably gonna be one of the hardest to write since her reason for falling in love is very vague (Other than Ran who's reason we never even find out) so this will look even more rushed and undetailed than the last.**

**Note: You'll notice that the other heroines are absent in the current heroines daydreams, this is because they don't bother imagining them XD**

**The Canon of the events is adjusted to the current heroines favor so any changes from canon are due to their imagination.**

**Another thing, I'll say this again: The background may not exactly be the same so I apologize if anybody's confused.**

* * *

><p>Cecilia Alcott was a maiden in love.<p>

I know, hard to believe isn't it? The proud Ojou-sama, scion of the prestigious Alcott family has fallen in love!

But it's true, his name was Ichika Orimura and he had captured her heart.

What kind of man was this Ichika that he could make the proud noble fall for him? Was he strong enough to fight a hundred men? Did he have enough connections to rival hers? Or maybe he was from a prestigious and noble household?

No, not really.

The man she fell in love with had none of these things. He couldn't fight an army by himself, he didn't have political connections to rival hers and he came from a modest household.

Why then did she fall I love with this man? What did he have to offer that countless others didn't?

To answer those questions we'll have to give you a little background on this young Maiden.

Cecilia was born to the prestigious Alcott family in her home country of England. She was raised with love and care in the household while experiencing things on the finer side of life.

Sounds like the perfect life right? No problems whatsoever?

Wrong.

She never got to spend time with her parents, everyday she would wait for her Mother to come home so she could greet her home but she was always too busy for her.

"Mommy! Mommy! Welcome ho-"

"Not now Cecilia, Mother's very busy."

The introduction of the Infinite Stratos just made things worse.

Her mother left the house more and more and came back less and less. With the invention of the Infinite Stratos females suddenly rised in power and social standing. Her mother used this as a chance to increase her family's influence as much as she could

And her Father?

A lazy lout who always stayed at home, a man who never once lifted a finger to help her mother even when he could. He grew up as a spoiled child and wanted everything handed to him on a silver platter.

"Get me more wine Chelsea!"

"Y-Yes sir!"

'_All men are worthless, until they can prove themselves then they're no different from father.'_

This caused no end of trouble for both her mother who ended up having to support the entire family and Cecilia herself who started to view all men like her father: Worthless people who always took the advantage of others and cowards who could never stand up for themselves.

Cecilia continued to think this way even when her parents had died, even when she had to defend her families fortune and when she went to IS academy.

That was until she met Ichika Orimura.

He was an instant phenomenon when he first appeared. A male that could pilot the IS, the possible missing link etc etc.

Cecilia didn't think much of him.

'_Who cares if he can pilot the IS? That doesn't make him any different.'_

Her first encounter with him didn't exactly earn him any brownie points.

"My name is Orimura Ichika, nice to meet you.

"..."

"Um...That's all."

The entire class dropped down to the floor at his brief introduction, it looks like they were expecting more.

'_Hmph, what an uncouth individual.'_

Her first impression of Orimura Ichika: Idiot

'_Hm, might as well introduce myself'_

"Ichika Orimura was it? I'm the representative candidate for England."

"Oh, can I ask you something then?"

"Hmph, of course, ask me anything."

"What's a representative candidate?"

Orimura Ichika, a person who was raised to live simply, had no idea of the inner workings of the IS hierarchy.

"W-WHAT! How could you not know!"

"I don't know what I don't know"

"W-Well, a representative candidate is the best pilot in ones nation and gifted with a personal IS."

"Oh"

'What's with that bored response?'

"I myself was able to beat one of the teachers."

"Well..."

"What is it?"

" I did that too."

What she didn't know was the fact that he simply stepped to the left and let the teacher crash into the wall.

"I-Impossible! They said only I'd managed to do it."

"Maybe they meant among the girls?"

Her impression after that became even worse, and it got really bad once they had to make a decision for the class representative.

" I think Orimura-kun should be the class representative!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"This is unacceptable! How can a weak man such as be the one representing our class."

"I don't even want the position anyway!"

'_Of course, always trying to run away from confrontation.'_

"But I won't take any insults like that lying down."

'_Oh? Looks like he has some fight in him.'_

"Then I suggest a duel, winner becomes class representative."

"Fine with me, how much of a handicap do you want?"

"Asking for mercy already?"

"I meant for you."

Orimura Ichika, a person who was raised simply, had no idea how idiotic he sounded right there and then.

"If men and women fought a war then men would lose in three days."

He seemed surprised for a minute before asserting that it didn't matter.

'_He doesn't lack confidence at least.'_

The day of the match came and went and the results were both expected and unexpected.

The expected part? Cecilia won.

The unexpected part? She won **by technicality**

That's correct. Cecilia Alcott, proud and noble IS pilot, had won by technicality.

How was this possible you may ask?

Did he have a hidden trick? Was she simply too weak during the fight?

It didn't matter really...

The fact that she nearly lost was all that mattered at that point, it had proven to her one thing and one thing only.

That she had met at least one male who can prove their strength in not just their words but their actions.

It was obvious that after this revelation that she would take an interest in the young man and she took steps to get closer to him.

The first step: Spending time with him.

I-Ichika-san, let us go back to the dorm together."

"Hm? Okay."

The second step: Making him a bento.

"I made lunch for you, I hope it's okay."

"I'm sure it will be don't worry. Ahhn~"

"H-How is it?"

"It's really delicious!"

"T-Thank you."

The third step : Calling each other without honorifics.

"Hey Cecilia."

"Hm?"

"Let's just call each other by first name, we're close enough for that right"

"A-All right then I-Ichika."

The fourth step: Going on a date.

"I-Ichika, I have an extra ticket for a fair, d-do you want to go with me?"

"Huh? Okay."

The date had gone as perfect as can be.

There was delicious food such as crepe.

"Here Cecilia Ahhhn~"

"A-Ahhn!"

Picture taking.

"Smile Cecilia!"

"O-Okay"

And even just walking around the area enjoying each others company.

"I wish this day would last forever."

"Me too."

"Did you say something Ichika?"

"Oh, nothing."

Time passed until they finally they reached the last attraction.

"Welcome! You're our lucky couple!"

""Huh?""

"As a reward you get to take part in our newest attraction."

The two were dragged off before they could protest towards the changing rooms.

"Um, what's going on?"

"This is a mock wedding ceremony."

"Wedding!"

"Don't worry, it's just to raise some of the customers interest, and besides, you two make a cute couple."

"C-C-Couple!"

Cecilia could protest no further before she was made to put on her costume for the attraction.

"I wonder how Ichika-san is doing?"

Needless to say the two were shocked upon seeing each other again.

"Y-You look very handsome Ichika."

"You look good to Cecilia."

Cecilia was dressed in a pristine white wedding decorated with laces and showed off her noble beauty.

Ichika by contrast wore a black tuxedo which emphasized his maturing features and made Cecilia go faint in the knees.

The two didn't have time before they were whisked off to an altar.

'_It's starting!'_

"Do you, Ichika Orimura, take the hand of Cecilia Alcott in loving marriage?"

'_Of course he wo-'_

"I do"

The conviction in his words shocked her for a few seconds and she almost missed her cue.

"And do you, Cecilia Alcott, take his hand in loving marriage?"

"I-I do!"

"You may now kiss the bride.

Cecilia felt her breath stop as Ichika's face got closer to hers, but she felt no hesitation as she-

"Cecilia! Wake up!"

"Wah!"

Cecilia got up from her bed and looked around her to see not the fake wedding ceremony but the decorations of her room.

"Cecilia, you have to wake up."

Her personal maid and childhood friend stood by her bedside.

"Chelsea, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"***Sigh*** It's nothing"

"Well, don't forget that Ichika-san is coming over later so you might want to get dressed."

Cecilia smiled upon hearing Chelsea's words, it might have all been a dream earlier but right now she was going to do her best to turn it into a reality.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, this chapter is finished! Sorry if it's even worse than before, Cecilia in general is hard to write. Anyway, please read and review.<strong>

**The next Maiden: Huang Lingyin**


	3. Lingyin Huang

**Third Chapter of "Daydreams of Maidens in Love", this time it's about the Chinese Yandere Loli Huang Lingyin**

**Note: The Backstory and Canon events in this chapter are almost completely different but they favor Rin more so that's what she's imagining it.**

* * *

><p>Huang Ligyin was a Maiden in Love.<p>

You've all heard the story; the shining knight saves the princess in distress before falling in love in a shower of flower petals.

This isn't that kind of story.

Ichika was no knight in shining armor and Rin wasn't a fairytale princess, far from it, they were just two ordinary kids who met under strange circumstances.

Their story started when they were both attending Middle school.

Rin and her family had left her homeland of China to spend a few years in Japan for her education and a chance at a new start.

"Come on Ling, it's time to go."

"Okay mommy!"

The travel and settling in went pretty well and before Rin knew it she was starting her first day of school.

"Please introduce yourself to the class Miss Huang."

"I-I'm Huang Lingyin but p-please call me Ling (Bamboo)"

She was nervous and she had good reason to be, starting school was stressful enough but starting school in a foreign country was positively nerve racking.

"Did she just say bamboo?"

"What is she a plant?"

"Bamboo-chan!"

She did not know that her name was pronounced the same as the plant bamboo and she made a bad first impression.

"""""Hahahahahahahaha"""""

"Wh-What's going on? Why's everybody laughing?"

Things became worse come lunchtime.

"Hey Bamboo!"

"Have you seen a panda anywhere?"

"P-Please stop."

Everyone in class was making fun of her at this point, she was being ostracized by one simple mistake.

"Hey! Leave her alone!"

Well...maybe not everyone was making fun of her.

"What do you want Orimura?"

"I said leave her alone."

Ichika Orimura could never leave well enough alone, seeing a girl in distress had made him spring to her defense.

"What are you gonna do about it Orimura? You're sister isn't here to fight for you."

"I'll help him then."

Ichika's friend Dan had come to his defense and together the two of them managed to make the bullies retreat.

"Are you alright?"

"T-Thank you."

"No problem."

"But...why did you do that?"

"Why? I didn't want to see a cute girl cry."

Ichika never needed a reason to help people, in his eyes, seeing someone cry was reason enough to help them.

"Just stay with me and Dan for now, we'll help you, right Dan?"

"Right, the more the merrier."

And so started a friendship that lasted through thick and thin.

"I'm telling you Ling, ramen is better!"

"Take that back! Sweet and sour pork is beats ramen any day!"

Dan and Rin constantly argued over the simplest things but this was only proof of their friendship.

"Ichika! Ramen is best right!"

"Sweet and Sour pork!"

As always, it was up to Ichika to solve his friend's arguments.

"W-Well, aren't they both good?"

Unfortunately, he was never really good at it.

""Only one's good!""

Rin used this argument as an excuse to make Ichika a meal come the next day.

"Here Ichika, eat this!"

"A-Alright, Ahhhn~"

"H-How is it?"

"..."

Ichika fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

"Ichika!"

"Hold on Ichika!"

Needless to say, Ichika wasn't very fond of sweet and sour pork after that.

"Uuuuuuu~ Sorry Ichika."

"Don't worry Rin, I'll eat your food any day."

"Th-Then, if I get better, will you eat my meals every day?"

"Sure!"

Rin was ecstatic and started practicing nearly every day to improve herself whenever she could.

"Ichika promised! I'll hold him to that!"

Things changed however one day when she came back from school.

"Ling, we have to talk..."

Those happy times couldn't last however.

"Hm? What is it mom?"

"We...have to go back."

"Back where."

"China"

Rin felt her heart sink as she heard her mother's words.

"Wh-Why!"

"I was given an offer to work as a researcher at the IS manufacturing and your father agreed so-"

"NO!"

"Ling...what's wrong?"

"I don't want to leave! I want to stay here!"

"We can't do that Ling, we're going back tommorrow"

Rin couldn't bear to hear any more, she turned and ran out of the house as fast as she could, her mother voice ringing behind her.

*Sniff* "I-It's not fair, why is this happening?"

Rin was sitting in the swing set at the old park, she, Ichika and Dan used to play at when they were bored. Now it might be the last time she could see it.

"I-I don't want to leave, I want to stay here, with Ichika."

Being separated from her friends was one thing but being separated from the person she loved was too much for the young maiden.

"Rin, cute girls shouldn't cry."

"I-Ichika?"

Rin couldn't believe her eyes, she had come here to be alone but he was standing there, just like he's always been whenever she was sad.

"W-Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's cause Rin-chan's crying."

"Y-You idiot."

Though Rin's words were harsh she was smiling through her tears.

"So, what's wrong?"

"I'm...moving."

"Where? I'm sure I can visit you."

"Back to China."

"Oh...I guess I'll need to start learning how to drive huh?"

"Haha~"

The joke was stupid but it caused Rin to let out a small laugh.

"So...I guess this is goodbye Ichika, thanks for everything."

"This isn't goodbye."

"What?"

"Just cause you're moving away doesn't mean we can't be friends, I'll always be here, waiting for you.

"I-Ichika..."

"So don't cry anymore Rin, I promise we'll always be friends."

The genuine smile on his face showed that his words were sincere and not just words of comfort.

"Ichika, I want to do something before I go."

"Hm?"

"Can I come over to your house?"

"O-Okay."

The trip to the house was quiet but, strangely enough, both just felt content being in each other's presence.

"I'm home~"

"..."

There was, of course, no response. Ichika lived alone ever since his sister Chifuyu took a job who knows where to provide them with a livelihood.

"Ichika, can you show me to the kitchen?"

"Sure."

Rin and Ichika made their way to the kitchen before she suddenly shooed him out and made him sit at the dining table.

"Just stay put Ichika."

Rin made her way back to the kitchen before gathering all the ingredients that she needed.

"Alright, let's put all that training to use!"

Rin moved around the kitchen like a woman possessed, preparing the meal and making sure it was as perfect as possible.

"Finished!"

Rin took the meal and served it to the oblivious young boy sitting at the table.

"Sweet and sour pork?"

Yeah...you said you'd eat it if I got better."

"Okay then, lets try it, ahhhhn~"

"H-How is it?"

"It's great!"

"R-Really!"

"Yeah, it's way better than before!"

"I'm glad."

Rin put all her effort into that one little dish, but it was worth it just to see her beloved happy.

"Hey Rin, wanna go somewhere before you go home?"

"Um, okay."

Ichika took Rin to a small tree atop a hill overlooking the city, Rin notice multiple names carved into the trees base.

"Ichika, what's this?"

"It's an old tree that's been here since I was a kid, it's special."

"What's so special about it?"

"They say if you carve the name of the person you like then you'll be together no matter what."

"Th-The person you like!"

"Yeah, let's carve our names together."

"B-But why me!"

"Why? Because I like you, isn't it obvious?"

Rin felt herself nearly faint at his blunt words but she managed to nod her head and write her name alongside Ichika's

"There, now I know I'll see you again no matter what."

"Hey...Ichika?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Ichika grabbed on Rin's waist and pulled her closer to him.

"I know."

The tension was high but the time was perfect. Both didn't hesitate as they-

***Ring*** ***Ring***

"BWAAAH!"

Rin awoke from her bed with her alarm clock blaring at her. She seemed to have overslept

"NOOOOO~ I WAS SO CLOSE!"

* * *

><p><strong>Here's chapter 3, hope you guys enjoyed it, please leave a review if you can. It helps motivate me :P<strong>

**Next Maiden: Ran Gotonda.**


	4. Ran Gotanda

**Alright here's Chapter 4 for "Daydreams of Maidens in Love", this one will be about the unsung heroine Gotanda Ran.**

**Note: The backstory she has here is COMPLETELY different from canon since her reason for liking Ichika in the novels is "He looked so cool playing sports" and I can't expand on that no matter how hard I try.**

* * *

><p>Gotanda Ran was a Maiden in love.<p>

Now you may be asking yourself. Why is she a Maiden in Love? Isn't she just 14?

Who could make someone so young be so certain that she had found the love of her life?

The answer to that question would (of course) be Ichika Orimura.

Now you're probably asking yourself: Him again? How did he charm a girl who just entered puberty?

Then sit back and listen to her story.

Gotanda Ran was the second born child of the Gotanda family, her older brother Dan being born first.

Their father had died in a car accident when both were still young which forced the two to grow up without a father figure to guide them.

Despite all this, the family was close and tight knit, they could always count on each other when they had problems.

"NIIIIIII~! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CD!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOUR CD! YOU PROBABLY JUST LOST IT AGAIN!"

Well...All families argue right?

"DAN! GIVE RAN BACK HER CD!"

"DON'T YELL AT ME YOU OLD MAN! I SAID I DIDN'T TAKE IT!"

You know the saying: "The more you hate the more you love"?

"DON'T YELL AT YOUR BETTERS LIKE THAT!"

"I'M NOT YELLING AT MY BETTERS, I'M YELLING AT YOU!"

I don't think that applies here.

"Ara ara, what's happening here?"

"M-Mom!"

Ren Gotanda was the chain that held the family together, either that or everyone was scared shitless of her.

"I hope none of you are arguing."

"O-Of course not mom! Right Ran!"

"Right Nii!"

Sacred shitless seemed more likely.

"Then I hope neither of you are too busy to help with the restaurant."

"Of course not! We'll be happy to help!"

All of its members helped in running the "Gotanda eatery", a family run restaurant that was started by her grandfather.

"Hey it's Ran-chan!"

"Ran-chan's here!"

Ran in particular was a blessing in disguise for the small restaurant; many people came just to see her.

"Hey Dan, how's it going?"

This is also when she first met Ichika Orimura.

"Hey Ichika, thanks for coming to help."

Dan had asked Ichika the previous day if he could help by working in the Gotanda eatery for a while.

"Please~ We need all the help we can get, you'll be paid like any other person."

"Alright then, anything to help out a friend."

"Yes! I owe you one Ichika!"

Ichika, being the nice guy that he is, had of course agreed to help.

"So nii, is this your friend or something?"

"That's right, his name's Ichika Orimura, he's gonna help us starting today."

Now was the climactic meeting between the two teenagers. Did she fall in love at first sight? Maybe declare her love for him right there and then?

"Just make sure he doesn't screw up, I don't wanna clean up for him if he makes a mistake."

"Jeez Ran, mean as always huh?"

Not exactly...

"I'll do my best Ran-san."

"Just make sure, I have enough to deal with cleaning up after Nii's mistakes."

"Hey!"

Ran had been relying on herself ever since her father had died. As a result, she ended up being strict to everyone and judgmental of people.

"Ichika, here's the order for table 5!"

"Got it, anything else?"

Many days passed and Ichika continued to work for the Gotanda eatery.

"We need more drinks!"

"I'll go make some, take table 2's orders will you?"

Ichika had surpassed her expectations by not only doing a decently but actually doing a great job.

Ichika-san, we the food on table 3 spilled!"

"I'll take care of it!"

Ran started to change her opinion of him.

"Take a break Ran-san, I'll handle the rest.

"Thanks Ichika-san."

The two eventually started to get along as the days passed by.

"Ran-san, do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Sure."

Even to the point where they could spend time with each other without Dan around them.

"Ran-san, lets eat lunch together."

"Alright."

He even started to spend time with her in school.

"Let's study together Ran-san"

"Coming Ichika-san."

It started out as innocent enough.

Just going to lunch together.

"Here Ran-san, I made too much this morning."

"Oh, Thanks! It looks delicious!"

Walking home together.

"Let's hurry before it rains."

"Alright."

Even going out to the mall together on weekends.

"Does this look good on me Ichika-san?"

"Yeah, Ran-san looks really cute!"

"T-Thanks."

Okay...there was definitely more going on here.

"Thank's for helping me today Ichika"

"No problem, glad I could help Ran."

When did they drop the honorifics?

"Let's go back home before your parents get worried."

"Don't worry Ichika, Mom and Grandpa trust you."

"That's good, that'll make things easier later on."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, let's go back."

Things were starting to change between the two of them, slowly but surely, they became closer than friends.

The fact that the two of them spent more time with each other didn't go unnoticed. Rumors started to spread around the school that the two were going out.

"Hey Ichika, are the rumors true? Are you really going out with Dan's little sis?"

"Maybe"

Ichika just smiled and refused to confirm or deny the accusations labeled on him, Ran was significantly less composed.

"I can't believe Ran-chan's going out with our senpai, she's so lucky."

"N-No! Ichika and I aren't going out!"

"Really?"

"Yeah...he wouldn't like someone like me anyway."

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing!"

Yes. Ran had fallen for the young man, she would never admit to anyone though, especially to the target of her affections.

"I don't want to ruin what we have right now, maybe when I'm more confident I can tell him how I feel."

It hurt her so much. To be so close yet so far to the person she loved made her heart ache, but she would rather be broken hearted than risk losing him forever.

"Ran, let's go to the ramen shop."

"Okay Ichika"

She continued to smile for him, even if the days they spent together meant that he only saw her as a friend.

"Hey Ichika...

"Hm?"

"Thanks"

"For what?"

"Everything"

Time passed, the seasons changed. The two grew ever closer until the time where came he had to leave her.

"Ichika-san, good luck!"

He was one year her senior, she knew he would have to leave before her.

"Thanks Ran, I'll do my best!"

Ran smiled at his earnest words, he was still the same boy she fell in love with.

"Now that I'm going leave, I know I'm not going to regret doing this."

Ran was confused until he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and said the three words she'd wanted to say to him for so long.

"I love you."

Ran was frozen in shock, she was ready to let him go once he left but apparently fate had other plans.

"I-I-Ichika-"

"Shhhh~ Just let me do one thing before I go."

Ichika closed his eyes and moved his face towards hers. Ran nearly fainted with anticipation as they got closer and clos-

"Ran! Wake up!"

"BWAAAH!"

The scene changed.

She wasn't being held at the hands of her beloved, now she was being shaken awake by her older brother.

"Ran! You have to help with the cooking!"

"NIIIIIIII!"

"Wait...what are you doing with that lamp!"

"BAKAAAAAA!"

***WHAM***

"GYAAAAAAH!"

* * *

><p><strong>Finished Ran's chapter, I know it was melodramatic but we really don't find out anything about her so sorry. Please read and review.<strong>

**Next Maiden: Charlotte Dunoa.**


	5. Laura Bodewig, part 1

**I'll have to postpone Charlotte's segment for now due to the fact that the "Charlotte getting amnesia" plot has already been used. This one will be about the German super soldier, Laura Bodewig.**

**I'll be trying a more basic writing style here, please comment if I should keep using it or go back to the previous one.**

**This is an AU of Laura's backstory, if you see any canon mistakes then please keep it to yourself. I'm fully aware this isn't canon. **

**I'd like to thank Toby860 for the idea of this segment.**

**Note: Ichika may be OOC in this chapter. I'm apologizing right now. Remember, this is all a dream.**

**~o.O.o~**

Laura Bodewig was a Maiden in Love.

The fact that this sentence could be said at all was a miracle in and of itself, at least when it came to this girl.

Don't believe me? Then listen to her story.

**~o.O.o~**

The Military base wasn't the friendliest place in the world. Covered in endless fields of green and barbed wire fences, it gave off feelings of desolation and despair.

The few buildings there were used for practical purposes only. Living areas, an office, and a shooting range for training. Each one was essential to a small outpost such as this.

The only inhabitant of the area was a woman in a black military uniform and some others, presumably military officers.

The woman in the dark uniform paced left and right in a strict, brisk manner. Her gait giving away her years of military experience, "Attention Shwarzer Hase recruits!" She stopped and turned to the crowd of soldiers sitting in front of her.

The crowd around her was abnormal to say the least. They weren't the strong rugged men with years of military experience showing on their face. No, these were children and teenagers, all ranging from as young as 12 to as old as 16.

The other odd thing; they were all females.

All of them stood up before saluting to her, "Yes Lieutenant Clarissa!" Their tone was as strict as hers, as if they had faced danger all their lives.

Clarissa nodded before continuing, "We will do our usual test; One round around the obstacle field." She looked at each of them in the eye, daring them to complain.

With suppressed groans, they made their way to the obstacle field to prepare for the days training (torture).

**30 minutes later**

Various amounts of people were scattered over the sandy field. Some were trapped under heavy walls of rope, others were trapped in deep pits. The training was too harsh for them.

All except one.

A thirteen year old girl stood there with nary a scratch on her, her silver hair glinting in the sunlight.

"Good job Bodewig." Clarissa smiled and patted her on the back.

A small smile made it's way onto her face, "Thank you instructor." She replied with a hint of pride in her voice.

It was always the same. This small, fragile looking girl always finished the tests flawlessly. She was the pride of the unit and everybody's ideal.

"Everyone take a shower, you all need it." Clarissa turned away from them and made her way back to the small office.

The various people made their way to the building containing the showers, rubbing the bruises and injuries they received from the earlier training exercise.

"Nice one Laura."

"Great as always."

Various people congratulated her on the way to the building. Jealousy wasn't a problem, when it came to the unit only weakness was seen as a cause of negative attention.

Laura smiled at all the praise she was receiving. This was par for the norm for her, being the best soldier in the group had its bragging rights.

She took a shower before going to sleep on the small bunk bed. Tomorrow was going to be the same as always

Or so she thought.

**~o.O.o~**

Clarissa walked into the living area near daybreak, everyone was still sleeping soundly in bed, most likely tired from the training (torture) from yesterday. She smirked and placed the whistle up to her lips.

***FWEEEEEEEEEEEP***

The entire barracks shook as all of the young soldiers woke up. Most of them fell of their beds and ended up in heaps on the floor.

"I trust everyone here had a good sleep?" She laughed inwardly at the various states of the group, "I'm here to introduce someone."

Everyone immediately straightened up after they heard her. A new person at the base was rare, scratch that, it was probably the only thing new that happened in the past few month's they'd been here.

"I see I've got your attention." She looked at the curious faces of all the girls in the bunk before continuing, "You will be having a new instructor starting today."

Everyone immediately began murmuring amongst each other before Clarissa held up her hand to silence them, "She will be here for one year only. It's only to pay back a favor." Their faces deflated once again after they heard this.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll like the course she'll be teaching." Everyone was confused but she paid it no heed as she motioned towards the door.

A woman came into the room. She looked to be in her early 20's, her long black hair was tied into a ponytail and she was dressed in a gray jogging outfit, not very odd for an instructor to wear in a military base.

She turned to them and they noticed her features were of Japanese descent, they didn't have time to observe more before she introduced herself, "My name is Chifuyu Orimura, I will be teaching you for one year here." She bowed afterwards in a show of respect.

All of the Shwarzer Hase members were trained in gauging how dangerous a person was from sight alone. Mannerisms, way of talking, posture and many other factors helped them determine how much of a potential threat an individual could be.

Chifuyu walked up to one of the older members, about 15 years old, and offered her hand to shake, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl struggled to raise her arms before managing to clasp Chifuyu's hand on hers, "I-It's a p-pleasure to meet you." She stuttered out nervously.

All of them could tell from the moment she introduced herself; they could attack her all at once and she'd be able to beat them with her eyes closed.

"Hey Chifuyu, where's the kid?" Clarissa suddenly asked.

"Oh right." Chifuyu let go of the recruit's hand (much to her relief) and went out of the room again.

All the recruits wondered what was going to happen before noises of an argument began to emanate from outside.

"Come on Ichika, they're not going to chew your head off!" Chifuyu's voice echoed throughout the room.

The reply was the one that shocked them more though, "You didn't say they were all girls! I thought you were going to teach people some military stuff!" The voice that replied was undoubtedly male.

"Teaching them about IS piloting counts as military. Now quit complaining and go in already!"

Chifuyu walked back into the room, this time she was dragging along an unwilling boy of about 13 years of age.

"Go introduce yourself!" She pushed him forward and he stumbled before straightening himself up again.

He looked around nervously and took a deep breath before introducing himself, "M-My name is Orimura Ichika, i-it's nice to meet you!" He bowed as well.

His features would be considered handsome to most; short black hair that stopped just above his neck and an average, slightly muscular frame. The face closely resembled that of his sister and added to his overall "pretty boy" feel.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Most of the members were frozen in shock. It was the first time for some of them to see someone close to their age. All the men they've interacted with were always about twice their age.

Clarissa laughed inwardly again at their reaction, "One of you will be in charge of showing him around and helping him settle in." She knew what was going to happen.

"Pick me!"

"No, pick me! I've been here the longest!"

Everyone was scrambling for the chance to get the position. Curiosity could make one act foolishly no matter the situation.

Clarissa looked past the excited girls and saw the only figure who wasn't acting like an energetic monkey, "Laura, you're in charge of him."

"Understood." Laura nodded her head but didn't say anything more. She wasn't interested in him. She was just going to do it to follow orders.

**~o.O.o~**

Laura took her job seriously, like she always did, and immediately grabbed Ichika in order to take him on the tour of the surrounding area.

"That's the firing range. We use it to test weapon fire and practice." She pointed to the small building where the Shwarzer Hase would practice with each other and have competitions in their free time.

"Um...Miss Laura-"

Not letting him get a word in, she continued her impromptu tour, "That's the obstacle course. It's what we use for training on most days." She pointed to the small obstacle course where they had their training (torture) yesterday.

"Miss Laur-" He tried to interrupt her again.

Cutting him off yet again, she gestured to the last building. "That's the command office, it's where lieutenant Clarissa receives orders from the base." The building was the smallest and looked like it could only house a few people at a time.

She turned towards him, "Do you understand everything?" He could only nod his head absently. It wasn't like talking had gotten him anything so far.

"Good." She was about to leave and go back to the barracks (she considered her job finished.) but Ichika grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her around.

Big mistake.

With a fluid movement, Laura grabbed his hand and pinned it against his back. She could have broken his arm if she wanted to at this point.

Ignoring his pained cries, she continued as if she wasn't potentially crippling him "What is it?" She was annoyed right now. She was the only one who didn't want to get saddled with this job.

"Can you show me the firing range? It sounds interesting." Ichika's voice was strained but he managed to answer.

Laura thought about it for a bit (never letting go of his arm, much to his discomfort.) before she let go and led him to the firing range. What's the harm?

The two of them walked to the small building. Ichika was rubbing his arm in order to ease the pain.

"We're here."

The interior of the building was bigger than the exterior let on. The walls were silver in color and the sound of automated machinery echoed all around them.

Ichika looked around the building in awe. It was obviously the first time he'd been somewhere like this, "Amazing~! Everything looks so high tech!" He looked around like a kid in a candy store.

Laura smiled a bit when she saw his actions. It reminded her of some of the other recruits first reactions when they first got to the base (Till they experienced their first tortu- TRAINING session).

"There are over 50 guns so far ranging from simple pistols to complex rifles." She gestured towards the racks of weapons on the wall. "Each of which possesses their own strengths and weaknesses."

Ichika nodded absently at her lecture, too engrossed at looking at the guns on the wall to pay any actual attention to her words.

"Can I use one?"

Laura's answer was immediate, "No." Her tone indicated it was final.

Ichika wouldn't give up though, "C'mon~ I'll be really careful!" He was on his knees begging.

Laura wouldn't give in, "No means no! I'll get in trouble if you end up getting shot in the ass or something!" She folded her arms over her chest to indicate she was serious.

Ichika did his last resort. The move that no one, not even Chifuyu, could resist, "Please~ I'll be really careful~" He stuck out his lips in a small pout and put on some crocodile tears. Yes, it was the only thing no person could resist.

The puppy dog eyes.

"Ngh!" Laura blushed slightly and looked away from him. That was the first time she'd ever seen an expression like that and she thought it looked...cute.

'_No! No! No! Don't fall for it!' _She thought frantically. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of looking at him again.

"Please~" He was still using the same expression as before.

"...Fine." Laura slumped down in defeat. That was a truly formidable weapon no person could resist.

Ichika smiled and rushed to the rack before picking up one of the biggest rifles he could find.

Alarm bells rung in Laura's head and she immediately rushed towards the excited (Suicidal in her own words) young man and took the gun way.

"Are you crazy!" She was nearly yelling at this point. Even a trained soldier would break if they had to deal with someone like him. "I said you could use one, not kill yourself with one!" She placed the rifle back onto the rack and picked up a small pistol and placed it on his open palms.

"A pistol?" He gave her a questioning look. Laura resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall. Her self-control was running thin.

"Yes, a pistol. Did you think I would allow you to use whatever gun you wanted? Don't answer that." She quickly added at the end.

Ichika shrugged and made his way to the firing range to take his first shot. He stood still, raised his arms, aimed down the sight, and took a deep breath before pulling the trigger as the target passed.

***BANG***

The bullet flew through the air...and landed nowhere near what the target was.

'_Wh-What was that? He looked like he was going to do it perfectly!' _Laura thought in disbelief.

"Um, Miss Laura...can you please help me?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes again.

Laura felt nervous for some reason but she refused to let it get to her, "A-Alright." She made her way behind him and held his hand in hers to help him adjust the grip.

"First, you make sure that you have a good grip." She positioned his hands in the correct manner, "Then, you aim down the sights and make sure the target is in position." Ichika looked down the sights once again, "Now, make sure to keep your arms straight to lessen the recoil." Both of them straightened their arms. "Now fire" They pulled the trigger.

***BANG***

The bullet landed right in the center of the target.

"I did it!" he turned towards her and held her hand in excitement. "Thanks Miss Laura!" He was practically beaming with joy.

"Just call me Laura...we're the same age right?" She looked away nervously at the hand contact.

"Okay then. Thanks Laura!"

Laura's face flushed even more and she shook her head left and right to get rid of the incoming redness. She was a soldier she reasoned to herself, not some love struck schoolgirl.

"Can I try again?" Ichika asked.

"Alright, let's do it the same as before." She walked behind Ichika and placed his hand in hers again. She hoped he didn't notice the redness on her cheeks.

**~o.O.o~**

Hours later, the two made their way back to the bunker since it was getting late. Neither of them noticed how much time passed until they saw the darkness coming from the window.

"Thanks for helping me Laura." Ichika was walking side by side with Laura, stretching his arms behind his back idly. "It was fun!"

"...No problem." Laura refused to make eye contact with him and kept her stare focused on the ground in front of her.

The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the building where they would sleep.

"So...where will I sleep Laura?" Ichika questioned her.

Now that she though of it, she didn't know either. "I don't know, let me check." She left him at the door and went to the Clarissa's office.

***tap tap tap***

"Come in."

Laura entered the room and saw Clarissa sitting at a table across from Chifuyu. A bottle of wine and two glasses was all that occupied the small table, making it obvious what the two were just doing.

"Lieutenant." Laura saluted despite this before asking her question, "Ichika would like to know where he will stay for the night."

Clarissa looked at Chifuyu with a smirk on her face (uh-oh) before she turned back to Laura, "I thought that'd be obvious."

Laura titled her head in confusion, "Obvious ma'am? Is there a room I'm supposed to place him in?"

Clarissa shook her head left and right, the smirk never leaving her face, "I placed him under your jurisdiction, right?" Laura just nodded "Then that should be obvious." She took another sip of her wine before continuing, "He'll be sleeping with you."

"W-What!" Laura, for the first time, couldn't keep her composure, "B-But he's-"

This time, Chifuyu interrupted her, "What's wrong? You were the only one who wasn't scrambling earlier to get closer to him. Did something change?" She asked in an "I know something happened" voice.

"N-No...nothing happened." Laura would rather die than tell them about what happened at the firing range, "I'll be going back then." Laura left the room as quickly as her legs could take her.

Waiting till her footsteps stopped, the two women opened the security console and looked at the video playing again.

"**Just call me Laura...we're the same age right?" **

"**Okay then. Thanks Laura!" **

The two of them laughed again as they took another drink, it was all going according to plan.

**~o.O.o~**

When Laura came back she found Ichika sleeping on the ground next to the door. He must've been more tired than he let on.

"Ichika, wake up." She shook him gently but he refused to wake up.

"5 more minutes, I don't wanna go to school yet." He mumbled softly before going back to sleep.

Laura sighed softly. This idiot had been causing trouble for her the entire day and, oddly enough, she didn't really mind it. She actually had...fun.

As she looked at his face, she saw his lips were parted slightly, inviting her to take them in hers. She was tempted to lean in and-

'_WAAAAAAAH!' _ Realizing what she was about to do, she promptly did what any girl in her situation would do: Run around like a headless chicken.

'_What's wrong with me! Am I sick? Did I get injured and receive a mental illness?'_ She thought in a panic.

The answer was simple. Any person could see this young girl was experiencing the one thing that would change her forever.

She was falling in love.

'_No, no, no! You are a trained soldier! You do not act like some love sick girl...not that I love him or anything! No...of course not!'_

She knew the truth though. She was, slowly but surely, falling in love with Ichika Orimura.

**~o.O.o~**

**Yeah, I have to split it. I still have more to go so I can't place it all in the same chapter.**

**Anyway, please read and review. Please tell me as well if I should go back to the previous style or stick with this one.**

**Hope this one's good!**


	6. Laura Bodewig, part 2

**Next part of Laura's chapter for Daydreams. Continuing on with our favorite super soldier, Laura Bodewig.**

**Also, to anybody who's read this chapter: Please read the authors notes at the end, it's pretty important.**

**~o.O.o~**

At a certain base in the country of Germany, a maiden was receiving the revelation that would change her life forever.

Laura paced back and forth as she tried to stifle her growing panic at what was happening. "Okay, just calm down Laura, you are a strong soldier and the pride of your unit. You're not falling in l-l-love with this-this..." She couldn't even finish her sentence.

_**'Perfect example of manhood?'**_ A voice echoed from inside her head, mocking her inability to fully deny her feelings for the first time in her life.

"Shut up!" She yelled out to no one.

_**'Kiss him already! He won't find out, he's sleeping!'**_ The voice tried to urge her.

"B-But-" Laura didn't know what to do: Kiss him and risk him finding out or hold it in and lose her chance? Truly, a riddle for the century had been formed here.

**_'Look at those soft lips and that cute sleeping face, you know you want to~'_** The voice once again spoke out in a sing-song manner, making her will to resist weaker and weaker.

With a blushing face, Laura leaned in and placed her face closer to his. A slight movement would be enough for the two of them to-

"NOOOOOO~!" With a loud yell, Laura suddenly backed away as she realized what she was about to do.

Laura was past the first stage of panicking and was moving onto the second stage: Denial.

Miraculously, while this was happening, the boy in question remained in his sleep and didn't even seem to acknowledge the earth shattering (to her) event that was happening right in front of him.

Laura panicked even more and tried calm herself down. She was going to lose her sanity at this rate if he didn't stop being so cu- making her panic! No, she did not think he was cute!

With a deep breath, Laura once again tried to wake up the adorabl- stupid! She meant stupid young man! "Ichika, wake up, we have to go back already." She shook his shoulder but there was no response from the sleeping teen.

Laura sighed and grabbed his shoulder before draping it over hers in a fireman's hold and started to drag him into the inside of the small living area. He was larger than her slightly but her strength was enough for her to successfully carry him inside.

"Hello, is anyone around?" She looked around the area and found that it was pitch black with no signs of movement anywhere. It looks like everyone had gone to sleep.

With another sigh, Laura carefully maneuvered to her bed, using her trained vision to see any obstacles that may have lay on the ground before finally making it to her personal bed.

'_Finally!'_ Laura thought as the thought of sleep crossed her mind. Now, all she needed to do was set Ichika down and she could finally go to sleep. Simple right?

Wrong...

Laura gently sat on the bed and tried to remove the arm encircling her small neck so both of them could go to sleep.

Ichika stirred slightly as Laura tried to remove his arm and suddenly placed his other arm around her, trapping her in his embrace. "Mmmm~ Teddy bear..." He mumbled softly as he rubbed his face against hers.

"I-I'm not a teddy bear!" Laura mumbled as she tried to resist the urge to yell out in a panic. She was a trained soldier, not a helpless little girl! Laura immediately tried to push him away from her.

"Soft~" This only served to make things worse (better) since he crashed down on the bed and didn't even bother to let go of her. Right now, both of them were on the bed and looked like they were doing some kind of awkward embrace.

'_Got to get out of here'_ Laura struggled and shook left and right but he wouldn't budge, this continued on for 5 more minutes before she decided to just gave up.

Unfortunately, her "captor" had caught her in a vice like grip so she was stuck like this. Resigning herself to her current condition, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

'_I-It's not like I'm enjoying it or anything. I just can't find a way to get out of this, that's all!'_ She thought hotly to herself as her face started to redden from their close contact.

_**'So the super soldier can't get out? Sounds like someone's making excuses~'**_ Here comes that voice again, why couldn't it just leaver her alone? She was stressed enough with the boy currently crushing her against him in a bear hug.

_**'Hey hey, look in front of you.'**_ Laura knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't resist the voice's goading and finally looked straight ahead of her.

Big mistake.

There, just a few inches in front of her, was the subject of her temptation: The sleeping face of her new object of desire. The innocent expression could melt any girls heart was just a few inches in front of her and the lips were slightly parted, trying to invite her once again to take them in hers.

**_'No no no! This is not the way you were raised! Do not give in to these foolish notions of supposed love!'_** She furiously denied as she refused to give in to the "temptation".

With a huff, she turned her face away from his and closed her eyes in order to get some sleep. Hopefully, she would wake up in the morning and find herself without these confusing emotions and everything back to normal.

~o.O.o~

Clarissa smiled as she observed Laura's actions through the video camera. Honestly, that girl could never be honest with herself even when the things she wanted were right in front of her.

"So, any luck?" She turned to the side and found her friend Chifuyu staring at her with a knowing smirk on her face.

Clarissa sighed before answering, "It's going slowly. The voice in the head thing is helping things a lot though." She smiled and gestured to the small mic she held between her fingers.

All of the Shwarzer Hase were implanted with nano machines directly in their brains that allowed communication to them in the most dire circumstances. Naturally, as trainees, they weren't told of these specific implants, which allowed Clarissa to take advantage and act as Laura's "voice in her head" to urge her along.

"I'm surprised she didn't question the sudden voice in her head telling her to do things" Chifuyu remarked offhandedly.

"That girls always been like that: Focusing on one thing and completely ignoring everything else. She was so focused on your brother she didn't recognize my voice" Clarissa stifled a laugh as she recounted what happened.

Both of them smiled and clicked their glasses again for another toast. If everything went well, those two would be at each other before either of them knew it.

If only it was that simple...

*RING* *RING*

_'Phone's ringing? That's odd, no one ever calls nowadays.'_ Clarissa stopped her drinking and made her way to the table to pick up the phone.

"Hello" She answered.

"Lieutenant Clarissa, this is Captain Enyala." The voice of a middle-aged woman answered her.

"Captain, is there anything you need" Clarissa replied cordially to the senior officer. Having a call from her usually meant something important was about to happen.

"We've made a breakthrough on a project and would like to clarify something." She recited in a matter of fact manner.

"What is it, Captain?" Clarissa replied with a touch of nervousness.

"Is the recruit, 'Laura Bodewig', still maintaining top performance?" She asked.

Clarissa resisted the urge to sigh. It was always like this, Laura was the first successful result of Germany's "Super Soldier program" and was frequently checked on to see if she maintained top performance for everything.

"Yes, her performance has been excellent and she only shows signs of improving" Clarissa replied evenly.

There was a moment of silence before she heard a reply again, "Then we will be needing her in a few days."

"What do you mean, Captain?" She struggled to keep her tone even.

"We have a new project and we think she would be the perfect subject." The captain replied.

"But Laura was transferred her under specific orders to join the Shwarzer Hase! She should no longer be required to follow the lab's orders!" Clarissa forgot her sense of professionalism for a moment and let her temper flare.

"Don't worry, Captain Clarissa. The procedure won't take long and afterwards she will have no more obligations to us." The captain replied as if Clarissa hadn't lost her composure just a moment ago.

Clarissa felt her blood boil but she forced herself to calm down. Now was not the time to lose her composure, "Understood, what will she be doing?" She gritted out.

"It's a new project intended to capitalize on the recent success of the Infinite Stratos." The captain explained.

"I was hoping for a name instead, Captain" Carissa pointed out.

"A new project by the German Military. It goes by the name: Valkyrie Trace System."

**~o.O.o~**

**Split again, unfortunately:( I'll have to do more research on the VT system on the light novels before I continue but I promise to try my best to make the next chapter the last for Laura's.**

**Anyway, the important thing I mentioned before was the fact that I need all of your help. The next chapter after Laura's arc will focus on either Tatenashi Sarashiki or Charlotte Dunoa. Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time thinking of a plot. **

**This is where you guys come in.**

**If any of you have ideas for either of these two, please leave it in a review and if you can. If I find it nice and/or suitable I'll use it for their daydream arc. It can be anything ranging from present day up to AU backstories like the one I'm doing now. Everything's fine as long as it's good.**

**I was also wondering whether I should re-write the previous chapters to be more like this one and go into more focus on the heroine's actions. Please leave a comment on that too.**

**By the way, I made a small epilogue idea for Tatenashi's daydream but I'll probably have to scrap it in favor of a new plot should you guys leave one in a review. I'll leave it here just to give a bit of a teaser. Might be more mature than what was posted before.**

The room around them was dark, perfect for what they were planning to do and what it entailed. Finally, the time had come for both to lose themselves to each other in a fit of passion and heat.

Tatenashi squirmed slightly in his grip as her face became more and more flushed, "I-Ichika-kun, what are you doing-"

Ichika placed his finger softly against her lips and smiled, and oh how that smile caused her to just melt inside. "Shhh~ Just relax and leave everything to me." His smile continued to enchant her and before she knew it she was practically helpless.

Ichika licked his lips and slowly unbuttoned the top half of her shirt, her voluptuous chest bounced free as if happy due to their release from their tight confines. "I don't know why you hide these" He touched her bosom gently which elicited a small moan from her. "But I'll be helping my self."

Unclasping her bra, he opened his mouth and quickly took one of the erect nipples and started to gently suck on it, making her trash around even more as shocks of pleasure went all over her body.

A few seconds of this and Ichika looked up towards her with the same devilish smile before continuing. "That's just the beginning, now for the next meal." He kneeled down slightly before unzipping her lower garments, eliciting yet another blush from the student council president.

"Now for the main course. Itadakimasu~"

Tatenashi had to resist the urge to yell out in pleasure as Ichika-

**Teaser end! Anyway, what do you guys think?**

**Last thing, made a list of remaining Maiden's**

**- Charlotte Dunoa**

**- Tatenashi Sarashiki**

**- Chifuyu Orimura**

**- Kanzashi Sarashiki**

**- Shinonono Tabane**

**- Madoka Orimura (Gift for ZeroXSEED)**

**- Maya Yamada**

**- Byaku-Shiki personification/Imouto-Shiki**

**- Secret character who won't be paired with Ichika (Not an OC!)**


	7. Status Update

**Status Update: Update for new plans for "Daydreams of Maidens in love". Laura's arc has given me an idea for the story since its pretty different from the other ones in both writing style ad content.**

**I'm planning to split the story into two segments for every Heroine labeled the "Daydream arc" and the "Life arc" respectively.**

**Daydream Arc – These are the more traditional daydreams that they'll get about Ichika and tend to be shorter like one of the heroines visiting Ichika's house, for example. These resemble more on just wandering imaginations and can happen more than once. For example: Tatenashi will most likely have 2 daydreams for her chapter and gets woken up twice during the middle of it. These tend to be more focused on just plain romantic situations and no seriousness or drama if possible. They also last only one chapter so it doesn't drag on.**

**Life Arc – These are more than just simple daydreams and tend to be more complicated in nature. Laura's daydream has scenes which she couldn't possible have known and also has hints of seriousness in between the lines. This means that the other Heroines will have more complex stories that deal with either their past or problems and how they involve Ichika, or AU's of their backstories where Ichika was with them like Laura's current daydream (Houki and Rin might be excluded for the backstory part since they already grew up with Ichika). These will most likely be longer than 1 chapter like Laura's so they don't fit the oneshot definition. It's also oossible they're happening in reality, rather the than imaginations of the Heroines.**

**Every Heroine will get one arc each if possible, so that means one "Daydream arc" and one "Life arc" for every remaining Heroine in the story if I can find a plot for both. Also might re-write the previous chapters to this format so Houki, Cecilia, Rin, and Ran will have extended chapters as well.**

**That's it for the status update. I'll try to update the story come next week and maybe I'll write a Christmas story for the season. Once again, please tell me if you guys have any ideas for either a Daydream and/or Life arc and I'll do it if it's good.**

**If anybody disagrees with this, please leave it in a review or comment and give reasons as to why instead of leaving a flame.**

**See you next time, and thank you for reading.**


	8. Laura Bodewig, part 3

**Next part of Laura's life arc in daydreams. The next heroine after this arc will either be Kanzashi, Tatenashi, or Charlotte. Most likely it'll be Kanzashi since I've got a solid life arc for her.**

**Also, I realize the explanation on the VT system might not be completely accurate so please bear with me. It's not like the anime expanded on it much, and the light novel wasn't much better.**

**Sorry if this part stinks. I've been having a bit of a hard time with this arc so it may be a bit lackluster. Hopefully the next one will be better.**

**~o.O.o~**

"A new project by the German Military. It goes by the name: Valkyrie Trace System."

Clarissa felt herself stiffen as she heard the Captain's announcement. The Valkyrie Trace system, or VT system for short, was an experimental system designed by the German research division

"Did you say the Valkyrie Trace system? Wasn't that still in the experimental phase just a few months ago?" Clarissa nearly lost her grip on the phone as she tried to stay composed. Chifuyu was staring at her, but she ignored her for now. She had bigger things to worry about.

"Rest assured, the project has been perfected and all of the kinks have been worked out to ensure the most possible benefits." Enyala answered.

The fact that she didn't answer whether the user would be safe or not wasn't lost on Clarissa.

"When do you plan to do this experiment?" Clarissa asked.

"We will be doing the experiment once we are prepared to do so. Just prepare for our arrival at any point."

Clarissa tried to ask for more information, but the phone clicked and the line disconnected. Sighing, she sat back down on her seat and grabbed the glass of wine again.

"What happened?" Chifuyu asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Well...it's a bit complicated. I'd rather not talk about it." She poured more wine onto her glass and raised it to her lips slowly.

Chifuyu stood up from her seat before she took the glass away from Clarissa's hand and placed it gently on the table.

"What was that for?" Clarissa asked annoyed at the fact that her drink was taken from her. She really needed one right now and talking to the Captain just made it worse.

Chifuyu sat back down and merely looked at her with that all too familiar stare of hers. "I asked you what happened." She said this without any hints of threats or pleading, but Clarissa knew all too well what would happen if she didn't answer.

Clarissa gulped and resisted the urge to very before composing herself. "Do you know what the Valkyrie Trace system is?" She asked.

"No." She replied curtly.

Clarissa leaned back in her chair and tried to relax herself. This was going to be a long night.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to explain."

"You should."

She really needed a drink right now.

**~o.O.o~**

Sunlight shined through the small windows of the barracks and bathed the entire living area with light. The various recruits were moving around, preparing for the days events, but there were two who had yet to awaken.

All of them looked at the last bed on the corner of the room where two figures were blissfully sleeping. One was the boy who had introduced himself to them only yesterday and the other was their best soldier, their arms were wrapped around each other in an embrace. No one could find an odder pair, but they seemed to complement each other perfectly.

"Do you think they're together?" One of them asked.

"Laura? You really think Miss 'I can shoot you from 50 feet away wih my eyes closed' is in a relationship?" Another answered.

"Then why are they hugging and sleeping on the same bed?" Another asked.

"She was probably asleep and he just slept there last night."

"Doesn't that mean he likes her? Why else would he sleep on her bed when it's the farthest from the entrance? It couldn't have been an accident."

"..."

They all sighed in dissapoinment as they left the room. They just lost their chance of getting into a relationship that Lieutenant Clarissa kept telling them about when she read shoujo manga. They did agree on one thing, however: If anyone would benefit from a relationship, it would've been Laura 'Ice queen' Bodewig.

**~o.O.o~**

Laura woke up feeling like she'd just been given an energy stim. Truly, a nights worth of sleep could do wonders for you.

She tried to stand before she realized that her arms were still being pinned to her sides by her "bedmate" and she was still unabe to move. She was half expecting that voice to start mocking her at this point, but he/she/it was quiet for some reason.

"Hey, Ichika, wake up" She whispered softly to the sleeping teen next to her.

Ichika ignored her and continued to sleep. Laura noticed that he was smiling and drooling slightly, but chose to ignore it. He was probably just having a good dream she thought to herself. She focused on trying to free herself from his grip again so she could get to training.

"Mmmmm~ Marshmallow~"

That is, until he started groping her chest.

"W-What're you doing!" She turned to the side and looked at his face, but, to her surprise, he was still sleeping soundly and seemed unaware of what he was doing, "Ichika, wake up!" She yelled at him, hoping he would wake up and realize what was happening.

He seemed to twitch slightly before his face relaxed again. Unfortunately, the groping didn't seem to stop, far from it, he seemed to be kneading her more vigorously than before.

"Soft Marshmallow~" He laughed slightly as he continued to massage Laura's chest.

She supressed the redness spreading on her cheeks and resisted the urge to squeak as she tried to wake him up again, "T-That's not a marshmallow!" She pinched his cheeks as she could and hoped that it would wake him up.

"Ow~ The marshmallow bit me~" He complained as Laura continued to pinch his cheek. After a few more seconds, he released her from his grip and Laura scrambled away from the bed as fast as he could.

'That was too close...' Laura thought as she changed her clothes to her training uniform. He could just stay here for today and sleep in, it wasn't like he had to train with them, anyway.

With that thought in mind, Laura left the small barracks to join her fellow recruits in the field for todays training (torture) sessions.

**~o.O.o~**

Chifuyu paced in front of the group with a stern gaze fixated on them as she observed them all. She was dressed in her gray jogging attire and her hair was still in a pnytail, but she excluded and aura of command so fearsome that no one could deny she felt like she belonged here.

Her gaze seemed to linger on Laura for a few seconds longer, but no one, not even Laura, seemed to notice. With a nod, she blew the whistle around her neck and caused all of them to stand rigid in attention.

"Alright everyone, I want you to do some of the regular physical excercises that you usually do. Do two sets of these then I'll give you more excercises." Chifuyu blew the whistle again and all of them scrambled to their usual positions.

The girls started their usual excercises composed of jumping jacks, stretches, and other forms of light movement. After a while, Chifuyu whistled again and gestured for them to start jogging around the field. None of them complained since it was better than the obstacle course.

While this was going on, Chifuyu was busy thinking about what Clarissa had told her.

**~o.O.o~**

"Well, I just got a call from one of the heads of the Research labs." Clarissa started to explain.

"Hasn't the lab been focused on IS related research ever since 10 years ago?" Chifuyu recalled the info that Clarissa had given her before she made her trip. Apparently, the lab was assigned and legalized to research the IS if they only allowed it to be used for sports and nothing else. Every country followed the treaty Germany was no exception.

"Yes. They want to try implanting Laura with the Valkyrie Trace system in a few days."

Chifuyu racked her mind, but she couldn't find any info on it,"Valkyrie Trace? Doesn't sound familiar to me."

"The Valkyrie Trace system is designed to improve the users IS piloting capabilities by implanting a miniature version of the IS' Hyper sensor directly into the persons optical nerves. By doing this, the person can hopefully increase in performance in both in and out of the IS unit." Clarissa recalled how the scientists had proposed the idea to the military board just a few months ago.

"What's the problem" Chifuyu knew that nothing like that came without it's drawbacks.

"Almost all the users experienced severe bouts emotional instability and sadistic tendencies when they were implanted. Many of them are still recovering at clinics now due to the trauma they received." Clarissa's voice became stony as she recalled the various incidents the past few months ago, "And now they want to do it again."

"But why Laura? Is there a reason they're focusing on her?"

Clarissa sighed before continuing, "Yes. Recently they've been focused on Laura's development here at the base due to her super soldier genes."

"Super Soldier genes?" Chifuyu tilted her head to the side in confusion, "This is the first time I've heard of it."

"The Super soldier project, officially dubbed the 'Uber Soldier experiment', was a program by the German Military to create the perfect super soldier using egg donors from various women and manipulating the genes to optimal level. The experiment had varying levels of success and there was only one perfect test subject..." Clarissa trailed off at the end when she mentioned the perfect test subject.

"This perfect test subject is Laura, then." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Yes. They're probably hoping this will make her immune to the drawbacks of the system and prove beneficial in the long run, but I don't believe it."

"Do you think this makes her different from any of the others?" Chifuyu asked her.

Clarissa looked down when she heard Chifuyu say that. It was true, Laura had been the perfect test subject and was released into her custody only a few months ago.

"No. She's the same as everybody else, no matter where she came from. If she's given that treatment, she'll be as vulnerable as the rest. She's just as human as the rest of us." Clarissa affirmed.

But that didn't mean she thought that she was some kind of pet project. Far from it, Laura was one of the people she was closest to here and no amount of experimentation would change that.

Chifuyu smiled slightly as she heard Clarissa's answer, "Alright then, tell me everything you know and we'll see what we can do."

**~o.O.o**

Chifuyu sighed as she remembered what happened the previous night. She acted like she was some kind of savior, but the truth was she didn't know what she could do for Laura either. They just had to hope for something to come to them.

"Um~ Miss Orimura?" She heard a voice beside her ask.

She looked to the side and the girl in question immediately squeaked in fright. She didn't notice that all her thinking made her face contort to a light scowl.

"Yes, what is it?"

"W-Well we finished the training exercise and we were wondering what to do" The girl nervously replied. She was a rookie by the looks of it.

Chfuyu thought to herself for a bit before an idea came to her, "Everyone, we'll be doing pairs excercises for now so grab a partner."

Everyone started mumbling to themselves in excitement. Pair activities were rare nowadays and they were always fun to do together.

"Ah, of course I'll be joining in as well so I'll be needing a partner too." Chifuyu suddenly added.

"..."

All the noise from girls immediately stopped and they turned to stare at Chifuyu.

"I'll just pick the person who has no partn-"

Before Chifuyu could complete her sentence, all of the girls scrambled around and immediately grabbed the closest person they could find. In just 30 seconds, everyone in the area was paired.

Except for two people.

Laura and the recruit beside her were the only two who were apart from the group when they paired up so they were left to the wolves so to speak. The girl beside Chifuyu was visibly shaking in terror now while Laura just seemed confused at what happened.

"Since everyone picked the person closest to them, I guess I will too." Before the girl could voice her protest, Chifuyu placed her hand on her shoulder and immediately the girls shaking worsened as Chifuyu dragged her with her.

"Alright, lets start the-"

"Miss Orimura, please wait a moment."

Chifuyu looked to where the voice originated from and saw Laura looking at her, "What is it Bodewig?" She asked.

"I do not have a partner, does this mean I am exempt from the exercise?"

"What are you talking about? You have a partner just like everybody else."

"Everyone has already paired up and you took Brier with you as your partner." Laura was genuinely confused. Didn't everyone already have a pair?

"Who else apart from Clarissa is here and isn't doing anything?" Chifuyu had to stop herself from smiling when Laura's faced blushed and right eye twitched slightly.

"T-That would be your brother, Miss Orimura." Laura answered in a soft voice.

"There's your partner, go wake him up and tell him to change into some of his training clothes and come back here as fast as you can."

Laura wanted to protest but held herself back. There was no need to anger the person who could most likely turn her into an ash pile on the floor she reasoned to herself.

Chifuyu sighed softly to herself as she watched Laura go back to the barracks. This was a gamble, but it was the only thing she could do for now.

She wondered if she could truly count on her brother to help her if the time came or if everything would be all right. Hopefully she would find out in the days to come.

She was also beginning to wonder why the girl beside her seemed to be hyperventilating and looked like she was about to faint when Chifuyu tightened her grip on her shoulder slightly. She hoped she could find out about why in the days to come, too.

**~o.O.o~**

**This chapter wasn't very romantic, wasn't it? Anyway, I'm really, really sorry for having to split this again. I wanted to put everything on this chapter, but I have a word limit and I'd have to leave the last parts undetailed if I put them all here. This arc's beginning to drag on and I apologize for that. Hopefully I can finish it soon.**

**I'll also try to update Future Imperfect when I can so please read that as well when it comes out:) Don't worry, this arcs almost over and we'll be on Kanzashi's afterwards.**

**Once again, please read and review.**


	9. Status Update 2

**Another Status update for Daydreams: The Life Arc's are interrupting the flow of the oneshot series and I have to keep shortening Laura's just to fit it so I'm making one last change.**

**The Life Arcs will now be separate mini-fics since they consist of more than one chapter and that'll allow me to extend them rather than shorten them like I've been doing with Laura's. The Daydream Arcs will stay here and they will remain as oneshots though there can be multiple separate daydreams for the same character. For example: Houki has a daydream focusing on her in Chapter 1 then she gets another one a few chapters later that's separate from the previous one. This'll allow me more freedom to write.**

**I will finish up Laura's Life arc either here in Daydreams or as a separate mini-fic depending on where you guys want it and then move on to the next arcs. The next Daydream arcs will either be for Tatenashi or Charlotte first while the next life Arc is for Kanzashi.**

**The life arcs will now be more detailed since I no longer have to follow a chapter amount limit and I'm getting help from some of the other authors. Hopefully it'll allow me to improve. **

**That's all for now. Expect Kanzashi's life arc soon (but not too soon since I just got Skyrim) and I hope you guys read it if possible. The title will be "Illusion that lies in the mirror." and will follow AU rules.**

**Thank you for reading and sorry for wasting your time with another storyless chapter.**


	10. Ran Gotanda 2

**Happy new years everyone! A mini Chapter here for our unsung heroine Dan Gotanda as a way to celebrate the coming year. This wasn't actually made by me, rather by my friend demino_hellsin. Sorry for the lack of updates, Skyrim has been sapping my free time. I'll try to update Future Imperfect soon.**

* * *

><p>Ran Gotanda was not a shallow girl. Safer to say, she was just bored of it all. She always had good grades, always was one of the first picks when it came to PE. She could apply for scholarship either academic or athletic, no problems there. A lot of people liked her because she was pretty easy to approach since she wasn't the top of the ladder when it came to school heirarchy. She took up the position of class representative without much protest because it seemed everyone expected it of her. However, she never really paid them any mind. What was important to her was not important to anyone else, she did what she liked on her own time and cared only for what she liked. Everyone was moving forward, she just danced with the wind, not changing, neither wilting nor blooming.<p>

But one day her life changed, or perhaps it was just how she looked at life that changed. She didn't exactly meet him the first time, she just saw him. Ran was pulled by her mother that sunday to watch the sports festival in Dan's, Ran's brother, middle school. Ran didn't want to go, she'd rather be elsewhere because such a place was too raucous for her tastes. But Mrs. Gotanda was adamant to have the whole family together to see Dan in the soccer game. Ran was in a bad mood that day but she was much too terrified of her mother to protest.

When the game started, Ran found little interest in it. Running around, kicking a ball, trying to get it past someone who was covering the net. She really didn't get why everyone was screaming out their lungs. Mrs. Gotanda in particular kept tugging on Ran's sleeve and pointed out Dan whenever he had the ball. Ran would actually follow that line of sight but during one play, she noticed that whenever Dan had the ball, there was one particular boy that followed.

The boy had black hair and a fit frame but from the way he moved, she could tell he was forcing himself. It didn't seem like he had much stamina. Still, he was quite good and moved with equal pace to Dan who seemed fresh as a daisy. They would pass the ball between each other to confuse their opposing guards. The black-haired boy would usually double-over after every play but as soon as Dan came, he'd stand upright again and laugh off the worried look Ran's brother gave. Ran kept her eyes on the boy from then on and they didn't leave till the end of the game. After the game ended in their loss, the black-haired boy was the first one to fall over and the last one to laugh as their whole team huddled together in an effort to cheer each other up. But Ran also noticed, he was the one who had the biggest and most sincere smile.

The Gotanda's met up with Dan right off the side of the field. The Gotanda's were finally introduced to the black-haired boy and vice-versa. His name was Orimura Ichika, a name her brother would often mention at their home. He seemed pretty plain to Ran and she couldn't fathom why her eyes were glued to him the whole time.

Ichika noticed her stare and asked if there was anything on his face. Ran shook her head and denied such a thing, her face suddenly felt warm and she was mildly aware that she was blushing. She was annoyed by it and by the person who made her blush in the first place. She almost felt like throttling him. The look on his face on her change in mood was confused at first but it settled back to a goofy smile that he greeted them with. Really, what was so fun about this? Didn't they just lose?

"Why are you so happy?"

Ran was surprised that she'd said that out loud. She tried to think of a way to make it sound like they misheard but Ichika answered before she could correct herself.

"Because it was fun."

This flabbergasted Ran. Ichika's team lost, that is not fun. Losing is not fun. The game itself was boring, winning was the only redeeming feature.

"Do you really like soccer that much?", she'd asked him.

Ichika shook his head, "Not really. I don't actually play much sports now.". He seemed embarrassed as he admitted to this.

"Then why are you so happy?"

The young man was taken aback by the strength behind the words. It seemed he'd managed to annoy another young girl and he had no idea how to deal with it, so he just spelled out his feeling honestly. "I'm pretty happy because I gave it my all.". The puzzled disbelieving look on Ran's face prompted Ichika to continue, "I'm happy because I did everything I could to try and win. Even though we lost, I don't have any regrets. So when I think back to the things we did to get here, all I'll find are happy memories.". It still seemed that Ran didn't understand. "I can't get any clearer than that.", Ichika raised his hands to placate her.

Dan suddenly pushed into their conversation and jokingly warned Ichika to stop talking to Ran, lest he suffer the fate of being beaten up by a girl a year younger. Ran got angry at this and ended up chasing Dan half-way through the field and proceeded to beat him into submission, that is until their mother intervened a few seconds later.

The sports festival ended and Ran was stuck to watch every single event her brother was involved in, including basketball and three-man relay to name a few. She didn't think it was too bad though, the whole time her eyes were on Ichika. She watched him run, watched him play, watched him pour everything into what he did. For some reason, she had started to cheer for him too.

Back at home, Ichika was invited to eat dinner with the family. Ran was seated beside Ichika with Dan on the other side. The two friends were chatting boisterously making Ran feel a bit uncomfortable. It seemed Ichika noticed this and asked if she was alright. She quickly answered that she was alright. Ran's heart was hammering, she could feel it beat against its cage. She didn't know why but she disliked letting the boy know she was bothered. She poised herself and began to eat. It was weird for her to notice that she was being very docile as she ate, normally she'd be fighting with Dan over pieces of meat and the few good vegies. Some members of her family noticed and asked if she was alright, Ran could only nod and tell them not to worry because she wasn't aware of anything herself. She was just very aware that there was Ichika right beside her.

Ran reached for a slice of chashu and her hands touched with Ichika's as he was getting a piece as well. Ran dropped her chopsticks as she retracted her hand like it was electrified. Ichika apologized for getting in her way but she brushed it off and said it was fine.

After dinner, Ran quickly retreated to her room and sealed herself in. What was happening? Why was she like this? She sunk to her knees, back barricading the door from any unwanted entry. She thought about the day, the sports festival, the events, about the roar of the crowd, the excitement in the air... and the passion of a boy. Ran's eyes snapped into focus as her mind suddenly created a clear image of Ichika. Why was he there? Why did she remember him so clearly? His eyes were still glittering with amusement, his smile was still happy, even though he looked flush from exhaustion and was about to collapse any minute. Why was she so fixated on that image in her mind?

"I'm happy because I did everything I could to try and win. Even though we lost, I don't have any regrets. So when I think back to the things we did to get here, all I'll find are happy memories."

She remembered his words. They were stupid, but she clinged to them. She recalled her own achievements, her victories and awards, all the praises she received. They all felt so hollow. Why? Because she never really cared, never really tried to. She just did them. She wanted to smile, just like him; to be happy, just like him.

"Ichika." She said his name with a blush.

* * *

><p>Years later, someone asked Ran why she fell in love with Ichika Orimura. She told them it was because he looked cool doing sports. Ran omitted that it was he who made her what she was today. Some would call her shallow, her brother called her stubborn for holding a crush this long. But they all didn't understand, Ichika taught her how to give everything for something. He taught Ran to be passionate. It was with this passion right now that she vowed to be Ichika's beloved.<p> 


	11. Tatenashi Sarashiki

**Next Chapter for Daydreams. This one's for the Student Council president, Tatenashi Sarashiki. Nothing much to say except read and enjoy.**

**Also, planning a new story AU with Ichika and Chifuyu. Please read it if you can :D**

**Warning: Tatenashi may be OOC here since I'm not to sure about her character. **

**BTW, Laura's next chapter will be on a new story along with the other chapters which will soon be removed to be placed there.**

* * *

><p>The sounds of sparring echoed around the small dojo as Ichika and Tatenashi fought together. However, if one looked close enough, it'd become obvious the match was incredibly one-sided. Ichika looked out of breath, his body wobbling left and right as he struggled to stay upright. Tatenashi, on the other hand, seemed be relaxed and showed no signs of any fatigue at all.<p>

"Ara, ara. Giving up so soon, Ichika-kun?" She said, leaning back on the wall and stretching her arms behind her head. Ichika didn't reply to her taunts and simply shook his head before charging straight at her again, pulling his right arm back to aim for her shoulder to try and disable her.

She dodged to the side casually before grabbing his outstretched arm and pinning it to his back. Ichika struggled to try and free himself, but her grip wouldn't loosen. "Do you give up yet, Ichika-kun? You're a thousand years too early to match up to this onee-san." She proclaimed confidently.

"N-No way!" He yelled in response. He struggled for a few more seconds before he realized it was futile. No matter how he moved, her grip on his arm wouldn't loosen and he ended up being unable to fight back. Hanging his head in shame, he stopped his movement and surrendered. "Alright, I give up, Senpai." He muttered softly.

"Huh~ I'm afraid I can't hear you properly. This Onee-san has a hard time hearing people when they don't speak up." She teased him. "Why don't you speak up?" She leaned forward and placed her face next to his, her mouth so close to his ear that he could feel her every breath tickling him. "There, maybe I can hear you now." The smile she had on her face made it quite obvious that she had ulterior motives to getting closer to him.

Ichika blushed at their close proximity and turned his face away from hers before muttering again. "I said I give up!" He said, the redness on his face getting worse by the second. Ichika always wondered how she could be so open, but he never really found out why. It honestly astounded him how she could be so carefree considering her position.

He didn't have time to wonder about it before he suddenly felt two soft, pillow like things pressing hard against his back. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out exactly what those were and he reacted like any reasonable and chivalrous young man would've.

By panicking...a lot.

"S-S-SENPAI! YOU'RE WAY TOO CLOSE!" He yelled as he suddenly ran forward, causing her grip on him to loosen . He was really starting to regret asking her to help him spar today.

Tatenashi pouted cutely, causing Ichika to blush again. "Eh~ I was just leaning in to hear what you said. It's Ichika-kun's fault for not being loud enough." She reasoned to him. Ichika knew her reasoning was a complete lie, but he knew arguing with her would only end with him losing and her coming out on top again, so he just kept his mouth shut and walked out the door of the dojo to the cafeteria for an early dinner. Maybe some food would help him calm down.

* * *

><p>"So...why are you here, again?" Ichika asked slowly.<p>

He'd wanted to get some time to himself, maybe think over a nice bowl of ramen. Unfortunately, he couldn't get his wish.

"Eh? Just having an early dinner. We probably had the same idea that's all."

Tatenashi was waiting for him at a table when he got there, a full meal already ready. She said she was going there herself and they just met by coincidence, but the full tray of food – full of his favorite foods, no less – placed across her made him seriously doubt that statement.

He sighed and sat down across from her. He didn't want to bother questioning her since he knew how that would end. Besides, the food looked delicious and it would've been a waste not to eat it.

There was one thing plaguing his mind, however. "Senpai, where's everybody else? It looks like there's no one here." He asked idly, looking around the oddly desolate cafeteria.

"They must be busy with other things." She answered nonchalantly, continuing to eat her food. Ichika seriously doubted that. He at least expected one of his five friends to be here. One of them would usually invite him to eat dinner with them.

He decided to drop it. After all, what could she have done? She might've been the student council president, bet he doubted even she was good enough to make the entire school disappear from the cafeteria.

"Ichika-kun, aren't you going to eat? You shouldn't waste food others worked so hard to make."

Ichika snapped out of his stupor and looked down on the food in front of him. The meal consisted of some shrimp tempura, a bowl of ramen at the side, and some rice for good measure. He also saw some cake for dessert which consisted of a slice strawberry cake and some sweets. All in all, it looked very appetizing.

With a small smile, he quickly shoveled down some of the food in front of him, and suddenly froze as he swallowed the first bite. _'Th-this shrimp's texture is...amazing! The crunchiness of the bread covering complements the softness of the shrimp inside.' _He grabbed some of the rice with his chopsticks and took a small bite as well, making another sigh of pleasure of the perfect taste. This was the best meal he had eaten in days.

Tatenashi smiled when she saw his over the top reaction. "I take it you like it, Ichika-kun." She gigled slightly, causing Ichika to stop his eating and look at her in embarassment. "How is it?"

"Oh...uh, it's really good." Ichika answered happily. "I was just surprised, that's all. This is the first time the foods ever tasted this good. The chefs must've been doing their best today" He added as he shoveled more food in his mouth.

"Actually, I made that, not the chefs." She remarked in an off hand tone as she started to eat her food as well.

The sounds of coughing could be heard as Ichika suddenly choked on the food at her announcement. He grabbed at the table to and tried to find some water or anything to dislodge the food on his throat.

Worried, Tatenashi stood up from her seat in order to give him the heimlich maneuver. "Ichika-kun, hold still and keep trying to dislodge the food from your throat." She placed both fists on his gut and pulled inwards.

After a few seconds of choking, the food lodged in his throat loosened and Ichika managed to spit it out, grimacing in disgust the entire time.

"T-Thanks, Tatenashi-senpai." He managed to say in between fits of coughing. "Haaaaa~ I wasted the food." He said with a sigh.

In all his grabbing at the table to find some water earlier, he had knocked over his tray and spilled his food onto the floor. Now the meal he had just been enjoying a few seconds ago was decorating the floor.

"Still...you should've told me you were the one who made it, Senpai" He remarked as he bent down to try and clean up some of the mess.

She bent down and helped him clean up the mess before a question popped into her mind. "Hm? What's the difference if I make it or not?" She asked him curiously. "You didn't seem to mind eating it before you found out." She idly noted.

Ichika felt himself pause awkwardly as she asked her question. "Well, it's just that...uh, how do I say this? Most people who cook for another person tend to either be family or...boyfriend and girlfriend." He managed to stutter out nervously, hoping she didn't notice his face turning red (How many time has this happened already?).

"Hm~ I thought Ichika-kun and I were already like that." She commented cheerfully, causing Ichika to feel embarassed .

He didn't know how she had come to that conclusion. Unless...was she just teasing him again? _'Yeah, that must be it.' _he thought to himself. She was just teasing him again like all the other times. He breathed a sigh of relief at his conlusion.

"I've already seen each you naked, after all." She added as an afterthought. Ichika had to resist the urge to remember how she barged into his his bathroom when he was taking a shower and the way the swimsuit clinged to her voluptous fig-

***CLANG***

The sounds of the tray dropping echoed around the Cafeteria as the metal fell onto the floor. Ichika cursed lightly as the food splled onto the floor again_. 'Okay, not good. I should probably try not to think of her huge bre- THERE I GO AGAIN! Need to keep calm and make sure she doesn't think I've been thinking of her matu-'_ Ichika had to resist the urge to smack himself in the face as images kept popping into his head.

While Ichika was having an internal debate, Tatenashi was having a dilemma of her own. She'd said her remark off-handedly just to gauge his reaction, and, honestly, it didn't look that good. Did he really think it was so unappealing that he dropped his tray in shock? She thought she was a good enough catch, to be completely honest.

'_Is there something wrong with me?'_ They both thought simultaneously, though their reasons differed by a huge margin. Ichika wondered why he was thinking of her so much and why pictures of her kept popping into his head, while Tatenashi tried to find what would make her unappealing to her kohai.

The next few minutes were silent, until Tatenashi looked up and asked Ichika a question. "Ichika-kun, is there something wrong with me?" She asked him slowly.

"Huh? What do you mean, Senpai?" He looked confusedly at her as he continued to clean mess he made.

She paused for a moment, before shaking her head left and right. "Un, nevermind." She smiled slightly before asking asking another question. "Um, just curious, but what kind of girls does Ichika-kun like?" She asked him curiously.

"U-Um, w-w-well...I try not to think of girls much?" He answered her with a stutter. Only after he said it did he realize how weird it sounded if taken out of context.

Evidently, Tatenashi picked up on this. "My, my. So you don't think of girls? I didn't think you had those kinds of tastes." She laughed as his face went from confused to bright red at her statement.

"T-That's not true! I think of girls all the time!" He denied her accusations of his alleged thinking of men. She just gave him a 'Yeah, sure I believe you' look and he took the last plunge to ensure his musculinity. "Didn't I get a nosebleed when I massaged you? That proves I like girls!" He said frantically.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize how deep he was digging himself into when he said that.

Tatenashi's smile turned into a full on smirk at his confession, and she went back to cleaning part of the food spilled on the floor. Ichika had a feeling he would regret confessing that little memory.

The rest of the time cleaning up was filled with an awkward silence. Ichika was expecting her to take a crack at his nervousness or tease him in her usual manner, but she seemed oddly focused at the task in front of her.

Both of them sat down at the table again after they finished cleaning up. The only feed left was the one for Tatenashi, Ichika thought sadly. He didn't want to admit it, but he still felt hungry and he wanted to eat more food. That sparring session had taken a lot out of him.

He heard a small sigh, before a voice broke him out of his sad mood. "Here, aaaaahn~" A pair of chopsticks holding some shrimp tempura in front of him. He looked past the chopsticks and saw Tatenashi giving him a bright smile.

"Senpai, what are you doing?" He titled his head to the side and looked at her with a confused expression. _'Doesn't she want to eat? She worked hard to cook these, after all.'_ He wondered to himself.

After a few seconds, he still didn't react to her feeding attempts, and her smile twitched ever so a slight push of her hand, the chopsticks she was holding got closer to his lips till the shrimp was almost touching it.

"Ichika-kun, please open your mouth" She asked in an overly sweet tone that made his heart beat rapidly for some reason. He felt like she was showing him a side she didn't show to anybody else.

And he thought she was...cute.

Ichika was usually annoyed with her antics and frequently protested to her usual methods of gaining his attention. He still remembered how he came into the room to find her in an...interesting...state of dress and how his bathroom door got broken after he ran in due to embarassment.

Now she was...being polite and considerate to him. Was it because of what he said earlier? If that was the case, he expected her to tease him more like she usually did, not like...this.

He opened his mouth as the shrimp pressed into it and swallowed the food offered to him. It still tasted delcious.

"How is it?" She asked him.

He nodded his head happily and smiled at her. "Yeah, it's still good even if it's a bit cold" He replied earnestly.

The rest of the impromptu meal went by smoothly after that and they shared the meal before placing the tray in the in disposal unit.

* * *

><p>Evening eventually rolled in as the two of them made their way to the dorms. Both of them kept a comfortable distance to one another and a comfortabe silence was kept between them.<p>

Using the rare moment to think, Ichika wondered about something she had said in the past. She'd told him to "Turn into a man I can fall in love with" and, to this day, he still wondered exactly what she meant.

What kind of man could match up to someone like her? Her standards must be near perfection, he thought somewhat bitterly. How was it possible for someone like him – Heck, for anyone at all – to catch up to her? They'd have to be superhuman.

His train of thoughts kept wandering and they both reached his dormitory room before he knew it.

"Well, see ya, Ichika-kun." She waved goodbye to him and turned to walk away, until-

"Wait, Senpai!"

She stopped in her tracks and was surprised to see Ichika staring at her with a serious look on his face. "What is it?" She asked, surprise evident in her voice. This was the first time she'd seen him look so intensely at her, and she felt her heart flutter slightly.

He seemed to hesitate before he managed to say what he wanted. "Before...when you told to be a man you could fall in love with, were you being serious?" He nervously asked her, efusing to break eye contact.

"Of course. This Onee-san never lies, you know." She answered confidently.

"Then, can you tell me what you meant? I don't really understand what you mean by-"

He didn't have a chance to finish his words as he suddenly felt a pair soft of lips encompass his. No words needed to be said, everything was understood between the two of them thorugh that one action alone.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that. It could've been seconds, hours, or days even. All he remembered was feeling content and the tastle of strawberry's in his mouth.

"Does that answer your question?" She whisperered teasingly at him.

"Huh? I thought you said that you wanted me to be a man you could fall in love with?" He gave her a look of confusion.

She hugged him softly and replied in a breathless voice.

"You already are."

Little did he know that the rest of the students were currently in a contest to be his next roommate to ensure the two of them would be alone the entire time. Hey, being the Student Council President had it's advantages.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, that's the end of the Tatenashi Sarashiki chapter. Probably not very good, but I'm stll learning how to write well, so please be patient with me.<strong>

**Truth be told, this wasn't supposed to be the original chapter, but I have to finish what I can since I'm beta reading some stuff. I'll make a the daydream for her that I was supposed to make for her again at some point.**

**Next maiden is either: Charlotte, Kanzashi, Maya, or Tabane. Please leave a comment on who you want to go next.**


	12. Tabane Shinonono

**Tabane's daydream from 1st person POV. A slightly more snarky Ichika here for a more balanced romance compared to the previous chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ichika POV<strong>

It was dark. No scratch that, it was pitch black. I couldn't see two feet in front of me since the only source of light's the electricity that arcs every now and again. If I focused my ears hard enough, I can hear laugher echoing from inside, but that's about it. Huh, why do I feel like a hero in an RPG?

The roof could be barely seen. Not just because it was dark, oh no, it was because it was so high up that you'd need 10 ladders to even touch it. I never did get why it was made so high. Guess I'll never understand scientists.

"...Not again." My face fell and I had to resist the urge to turn around and run right back home with my tail between my legs. The evil laughter echoing from the depths of the place really wasn't helping things. Still, I wasn't going to fight an evil overlord or some kind of monster bent on world destruction.

No. What I was going to see was much, much worse.

"Hello, anybody here?" I paused and waited a few seconds, waiting to see if anyone was going to reply, "If no one's going to answer I'm going to leave..." I called out again.

"..."

Of course she didn't answer, she never takes that threat seriously. She knows I'm going to go in there, I'm going to listen to her explain another experiment that makes no sense, ask (more like demand till I say yes) me to participate for who knows what reason, say no till she pulls off that annoying and not cute at all pouty face, then I'm gonna say yes and end up regretting it five days later when Chifuyu-nee's yelling at me.

Isn't this a great life? I call it the five-step process. Happens every time.

Steeling myself and taking a deep breath, I slowly walked in, ignoring the fact that the door slammed behind me and locked itself automatically. No, that wasn't scary or mysterious at all. It's not like it never happened before.

Well, no turning back now.

I continued to walk down the hallway, taking note of the various experiments and gadgets that lined the walls. I grabbed the flashlight I always bring with me and turn it on. Finally some light, I thought I was going blind.

"Hmm, looks like the Mark 3 prototype's doing well." I stopped and looked at the claw like...thing that was hanging on the wall. The Mark 3 was supposed to be a prototype longitudinal device that could pierce different matrices through the use of extreme vibration.

...

Okay, I have no idea what the heck I'm talking about. I'm pretty I'm at least halfway...no, 10% right about...whatever the heck that thing is. She did mention vibration at some point, so...maybe? Ah, it doesn't matter, it's probably just another failed experiment or something that never got completed.

I shook my head and shone the light on another object on the wall. This one looked like some kind of... laser gun? She called it the Euclid's C-finder. No idea what this one does, but I really don't want to find out. Maybe it's some kind of orbital destroyer or something. She did say you could level a city with this thing.

I shivered and looked at the second to last thing hanging. Now, this thing was interesting. She called it a "Time Machine". I've seen enough movies to know what it was, but the fact that she built one is downright impossible. Of course it didn't work. Why would it? She keeps insisting an alternate version of her managed to make one and brought every one of my possible kids back to the past, but I don't believe that? Who would?

"Alright, lets look at the last thing." I couldn't see clearly, but this one looks like a doll? It looked really lifelike for some reason, "Huh, this is new." I reached my hand out to touch the chest covered in a white dress, "It's warm and really lifelike..."

Without thinking, I squeezed it.

"...I would appreciate it very much if you released my chest..."

"Uwaaah!" I screamed and fell back, the flashlight clattering on the floor next to me. What the hell was that, some kind of demon doll? I thought she was into science, not the supernatural!

"Oh, Ichika-san." The "Doll" landed on the floor with a dull thud, "It's nice to see you again, I'm sorry for startling you." She...it(?) held a hand out to me, beckoning me to take it.

"T-Thanks." Trying to calm myself, and ignoring the fact that maybe taking her/it's hand was a mistake, I let her/it help me up.

Wait, what did she mean by again?

I grabbed the flashlight rolling on the floor and shone it on her. Silver hair bunched up into three tails was the first and only thing I needed to see. There was only one person I knew who wore her hair like that.

"Kuu-san, w-what are you doing here?"

She didn't answer and just looked away, her pale face turning red. Was that a blush I just saw? Wow, I didn't think it was April fools already. Okay guys, you can come out here and tell me I got punked. Go ahead.

"Tabane-sama is in one of her...moods. It seemed unwise for me to stay there."

"Alright, so..."I scratched my head. How do I ask her? Arrgh, I'll just go out and say it.

"Why were you hanging on the wall...?" Did she just blush again? Wow, I didn't think it was that serious. And what did she mean by one of her moods? The only mood I've ever seen her in is hyper.

"I...did not want to be found..." She took a few breaths before continuing, "Tabane-sama is...re-evaluating her life due to her age. It appears this is a common aspect for many women of her age."

What the heck did she mean by-Oh. Oh, that's...not good. Was she having her coming of age crisis yet? Chifuyu-nee warned me this day would come. She always thought it would happen the minute she saw Kuu working at the lab one day. She said it happened to her too ever since she I became 13.

She was looking looking for a relationship now that she had a kid.

Not good. This is really not good.

Last time she thought she needed a kid she locked Houki and me in the same room and started telling us to "act natural". I swear I could've died of embarrassment at that point. Looking back on it, it was a good thing we were both 12 at the time or things would've gotten even more tense.

Good thing Kuu came along not long after that.

Wait, there's till hope. Maybe Kuu's just exaggerating things and I'm worrying too much. No need to think it's gotten that bad yet. Still, just to be safe, I'm going to take down the Orbital Destroyer. Don't want any accidents happening if it can be prevented.

"Kuu, what exactly do you mean by moods." I asked slowly.

Please, please, please say she's just bored. At least then we could try to fix it rather than have to deal with another locked in the room problem.

"She has not left her room and seems quiet as of late." She looked really sad. Good, I'm freaking terrified right now, "When I ask her what is wrong she just starts hugging me and says she is lucky we are together."

Okay, that didn't sound promising at all. This doesn't sound like she's in the mood for experiments. Experiments can be fixed at least. This sounds like the crisis Chifuyu-nee told me about.

"A-Anything else."

She put her finger on her chin, "Yes. She seems to be trying to make some kind of new...mixture. I believe the label said "Lovu Lovu Max.".

That...sounds even worse. Okay, try to calm down Ichika. You can handle this. Just because Chifuyu-nee's off doing her work and won't be back for months doesn't mean you're doomed. You still have Rin and Houki to call if you need help.

"Right, well...I'm going to go see her, see if I can help or...something."

I dusted myself off and prepared to enter her room before I felt a soft tugging on my sleeve. Looking down, I saw that Kuu was staring up at me with her closed eyes. She never opened her eyes much, I don't even know what her eye color is.

"Be careful...I hope you don't die."

Why does that make me feel even more nervous than before? I didn't bring any extra underwear, Kuu, I hope you're aware of that. I wouldn't want to make you take responsibility for any accidents that happen if you go and say stuff like that whenever you want.

"I'll be careful" I smiled down at her, but I don't know if she saw it, "Tabane-san'll be back to normal before you know it."

I couldn't really catch it, but I swore her mouth tilted upwards ever so slightly before letting go.

"Hello...Tabane-san? I'm here to visit."

The room I was in was brightly lit, and extreme opposite of the hallway that led up to it. I guess you need a lot of light for experimenting.

The room looked different from any other room I've been in. Instead of a bed there was some kind of spherical chair you could lay down in. A holographic screen replaced any T.V and the room was filled to the brim with blueprints, metallic parts, and pictures.

The only other person in the room was sitting on the sphere chair, looking bored out of her mind.

"..."

"Ah...Tabane-san? Are you alright?" I called out.

"..."

She didn't answer, big surprise there. No really, I'm not being sarcastic. Usually she'd be saying pointless things right now about how her latest experiment went and "ask" If I wanted to help her. On the bright side of things, it looks like I'll be skipping the 5 step process.

"Oh...Ik-kun, I didn't notice you were there." She looked up and I had to stop myself from gasping out loud. Was this really the same Tabane-san? She sounded so...normal. No yelling out loud or saying she made the next best thing since sliced bread. It sounded odd.

No, it sounded wrong.

"Tabane-san, are you alright?" I took cautious steps towards her, making sure to keep it slow. No need to startle her or anything.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just looking back on my life now that I have the time." I took the chance to sit next to her on the sphere chair. Okay, now that I'm here, I can restrain her if something goes wrong.

Looking back on your life? Tabane-san, you're 24 years old and you look even younger than that. There's really not much to look back at this point jut yet. Of course I didn't say this out loud. Tact is the first thing a gentleman should know.

"She grew up so fast, I just couldn't believe it. One day she's helping me calibrate things for the Akatsubaki and the next she's building her own lasers with her eyes closed."

Is she talking about Kuu-san? There really isn't much of a gap between those two...and aren't her eyes always closed? Strange thing to be sad about right now.

"Before you know it she'll be leaving the lab to make her own devices that'll change the world and I'll be here alone." She looked down, sad.

Okay, this is worse than he thought. She didn't want a relationship. No, she was just getting delusional! Did she forget that Houki, Chifuyu-nee, and me are here? Or maybe the fact that Kuu's 12 and doesn't attend school, so she wouldn't be leaving for a really long time?

"Listen, Tabane-san-"

"Do you think I'm old?" She suddenly interrupted.

What kind of question is that? Is she really asking me if I thought she, who didn't look a day past 20, was old? Yeah, the day I said she looked old would be the day I stopped liking older women.

...

Wait, that didn't come out right! Anyway, back to the question at hand.

"Uh...no, of course not!" I yelled, waving both hands in front of my face in a panic.

"Hmph, you're lying, you think I'm old." She did that annoyingly not cute at all pout and put her knees below her head. Geez, this is depressing.

I scratched the back of y head before I got an idea. It was a risky idea, but it might work, "Look why don't you try going out on a date or something? That should-"

"That's it!" She stood up from the sphere chair, "You and me will go on a date tomorrow morning so I can test it. If I can get through tomorrow, I'll be back to normal! Heh, I'm a genius." Ah, her hyper voice is back.

And she interrupted me again. Well, if she cheers up it'll be worth- Did she just say you and me! As in you referring to me and me referring to her! Oh no, this is bad!

"W-Well, I meant more on getting someone else you know. Kinda like an older friend." I tried to reason with her. Chifuyu-nee would kill me if she found out I went on a date with her best friend.

She didn't answer and just stared at me. Oh god, this was the stare. The stare that said 'Why are you arguing with me? You should be preparing for the experiment already.' till you caved in and said yes.

"N-Nevermind, I'll meet you tomorrow, then?" I forced a smile. This was just for the sake of cheering her up. I held no attraction to her whatsoever. I mean who cares if she has a pretty smile and that purple hair that looks really good with that-

I'll just stop now.

"Yup! I'll get us two tickets to the new park opening tomorrow. This is going to be great!" She was already skipping around all happy. I guess I did something right at least.

"Well, see you tomorrow then."

* * *

><p><strong>Tabane POV<strong>

"Hmmhmmhmm"

Tomorrow's going to be so fun! I mean, its just another experiment and all, but who would've thought he'd fall for that 'I'm going to be all alone' act? Kuu-chan told me he wouldn't fall for it. Guess I showed her!

"Ohh, this looks fun!" The website I was looking at was advertising the carnival that was going to open tomorrow. Looks like couples were the theme that was going to happen. Hmm, now to hack it so I can get a couple of tickets and...done.

Kuu asked me earlier why I was going through all this trouble to trick him, but it's not exactly tricking, more like...persuading. I mean, it was just to shake things up a little. The five step thing was really getting old. Why bother doing the same old thing again when this is much easier?

"Tabane-sama..."

Oh, that's Kuu. I turned around and found her staring at me with her eyes open. Uh-oh, why is she looking at me like that? She never opens her eyes like that unless she's about to say something important.

"Tabane-sama, what is the purpose of this experiment?"

"Huh? Oh, it's just something I'm curious about." I waved it off.

"Hmm, it just seemed like you've been looking at him differently since her turned 15, that's all. I wonder if you have a more personal reason for asking him for help."

It didn't have anything to do with the fact that he was really growing up into a good looking - Did I say good looking? I meant average - young man! Why would it? This was an experiment on...social interactions. Anyone would've worked, he was just the most convenient.

"Tabane-sama, why do you have a picture of him in your holo-screen?" She pointed behind me and I thanked whoever I should thank that my face didn't turn red. Why did I leave that up?

"That's Houki-chan's!" I grabbed her by the shoulders and started pushing her out of the room, "A-Anyway, I need to prepare for tomorrow, so let's go to sleep now!"

***Slam***

Sigh...this is just an experiment and nothing more.

Right?

* * *

><p><strong>Ichika POV<strong>

...This is awkward.

Right now I was standing at the entrance to the park, couples passing me by and giving me stares as I stood there. Tabane-san, where are you? Standing out here by myself is awkward enough already. Heck, I'm lucky I managed to hide it from Rin, Houki, and Chifuyu-nee. Hopefully none of them find out.

I even dressed up for today: A black long sleeve shirt with a zipper on the right shoulder that can be used to loosen the chest area along with some gray pants and black shoes. Not really formal, but more than the casual shirt and baggy jeans I usually wear.

"IIIIKK-KUUUUN~"

"Oh no, that doesn't sound goo-"

The next thing I know I'm at the ground, looking up at Tabane-san's smiling face looking down on me. Hey, why am I on the ground? Man the floor is cold.

"Sorry I'm late, Ik-kun, I had to find a babysitter for Kuu-chan while we're out. Can't leave her along, right?" She stood back up with a smile and dusted herself off.

Kuu? Needing a babysitter? Yeah, more likely chance of the babysitter running away in terror after the first hour. I've seen what she can do when she's bored. It's...not pretty.

"It's fine, Tabane-san." I stood up too. Great, now everyone was staring at the two of us. This isn't a good start, "Who did you get to watch Kuu-san?" I hope she got someone who can deal with attacks to their sanity.

"Oh, I got Clarissa-san and her boyfriend to do it. They were visiting Laura-san and they were free for the day." She waved of my concern...Wait, did she say Clarissa-san? By herself she was crazy enough with her...odd idea's on Japanese culture, but Joshua-san was even weirder.

Clarissa-san was harmless on her own, thought she tended to give odd ideas to Laura-san that caused me a lot of trouble. I still remember when Laura snuck into our house when Clarissa told her something wrong she read from a manga. It took a while for me to convince Chifuyu-nee that I didn't need to use protection since nothing happened.

Joshua-san, on the other hand, was the weirder but more stable of the two. His weirdness extended mostly to his physical appearance. He looked kind of like a Bandage Mummy and he always wore some kind of police uniform with a vest. He was nice enough, but he always thought violence was the best solution to things. I heard a rumor that he was set on fire and thrown off the Grand Canyon, but I really doubt that's true.

"Well, Ik-kun, how do I look?" She did a twirl and did a peace sign pose. Well, apart from the fact that she was attracting a lot of attention, I think she looked good. She replaced the old Alice in Wonderland outfit she usually wore for a semi long sleeve light gray jacket with a white collared undershirt, some light blue pants, and a pair of boots.

I guess she looked pretty? The fact that she was wearing anything apart from her usual attire was more surprising to me more than anything.

"You look...okay?" I managed to blurt out. She pouted slightly and I felt my face heat up. I just hope she didn't see.

"Well, let's go, Tabane-san." I walked forward before I felt my arm getting pulled back and something soft pressing down on it. Wait, this sounds familiar.

"T-Tabane-san, wh-what are you doing?" She was hugging my arm right now and I could feel something soft digging into it. The thin fabric really didn't help things.

"We're on a date right, Ik-kun? We should stick together~" She smiled and dragged me inside, ignoring my protests. When did she get so strong? I don't remember her being able to drag anyone that wasn't willing with her.

No...she's just strong now, that's all.

"Oooh, oooh, let's ride that first!" She finally let go of me and started jumping around excitedly, pointing at the large rollercoaster. Why the rollercoaster? I hated going fast distances unless they were waterslides.

"A-Are you sure Tabane-san? Maybe we could take something else." I pleaded.

"Ehhhhhh~ But I really wanted to ride this today." Oh great, she was giving me the pout again? Does she know how annoying not cute it is for me? This is getting tedious.

."...Fine, let's go."

My heart kept pounding every step, going faster and faster as the line shortened. Why is this line so fast? I thought people would be ahead of us more.

"Ready, Ik-kun?" She smiled even wider as we buckled in.

No, I'm not ready! Didn't you notice me shivering? I've been shaking since we got in this line. You couldn't have ignored it, my arm was shaking too and you were hugging that the entire way through.

***Tok Tok Tok Tok***

We're getting high- Is that a bird! How high are we going? Oh man, we just passed the bird and we're still going higher! I have a bad feeling about this!

"Here it comes!"

Okay, we're at the top now. Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

><p>"I am never doing that again!" Okay, that's it, that pout's never going to affect me ever again! Oh man, I shouldn't have had a large breakfast this morning. It tastes worse going in than it does going back out.<p>

"But it was fun~ Don't you think so, Ik-kun?" Oh yeah, I just love staring at my breakfast a couple of hours after I ate it. It was 'fun', alright.

"Ooooh, oooh, let's go on that next!" Against my better judgement, I actually looked up and saw what she was pointing it.

I immediately wished I hadn't.

"That's a bungee ride! We just rode a rollercoaster and now you want to ride a bungee cable?" I couldn't even keep it in this time. I placed my head back in the trash can and finished my business. Well, there goes the rest of my breakfast! Huh, I don't remember eating eggs this morning.

"But it'll be fun!" No, no, no! Take that pout off your face! I'm not gonna sit in a bungee table going hundreds of feet downwards, most likely spitting out the rest of my breakfast along the way, just because she's pouting.

"Please~ Ik-kun~"

Oh no she's pulling out the puppy dog eyes too. Why? Do you want to make me suffer? I was half-thinking she was faking the whole sad episode yesterday, but I don't even I'm dense enough to fall for it if it was an act.

"...Fine."

* * *

><p>"Ik-kun, let's go get some crepes!"<p>

I'm tired. Tabane-san made me ride the rollercoaster, the bungee cable, and then made me run around looking for something else to ride after that. It was already 2:00 right now, not much time till closing time.

"S-Sure, just let me...catch my breath for a minute...or five." I sat down, panting, on the table. Man, I was lucky I didn't throw up anymore after the bungee ride, but I think that's more on the fact that I had nothing left to throw rather than because I was getting used to it.

I waited a few seconds before I saw Tabane-san sit across from me, holding out a blueberry crepe.

"Thanks." I forced a smile even if I still felt sick and grabbed the crepe from her hand. Mmm, this is good.

"Ah, Ik-kun, let me try something!"

Before I could ask her what she was talking about, she leaned across the table, showing her ample chest...not that I was looking or anything, and took a bit out of my crepe.

"H-Hey, Tabane-san!" She pulled back smiled at me as she chewed part of my crepe.

"That vendor was right, the mixed berry crepe is delicious~" She held out her crepe to me, "Here, try some!"

I really didn't want to, but I didn't think telling her no was a good idea, so I took a bite.

"Ahnnn" I leaned forward and took a bite out of the offered strawberry crepe, "Hmmm, it's pretty good. I guess this is what Laura was talking about before." I smiled and leaned back till I noticed something.

Ah, Tabane-san, you have some cream on your face." I leaned forward and wiped it off from the side of her mouth.

"Ahhhh...thanks, Ik-kun." Her face turned red. Is she getting a fever now? It is pretty hot out here. Hope she doesn't get sick. The rest of the time eating the crepes was quiet, oddly enough, and soon we were making our way to the movie theatre for the 3 and a half hour movie.

Couples usually watched romance movies in these kinds of things. I've seen enough romance manga to know what usually happens.

"**Impossible, how can you still stand!"**

"**The power of the core preserves me!"**

...What is this? This looks like something you'd be watching at an anime convention or something. I've seen scenes in manga's where the two people slowly hold hands while watching a romantic movie, then slowly leaning in for a kiss.

...Nothing's going to happen in this movie, that's for sure. Not because it's not romantic or anything, but because we're not really a couple. It's going to be over by the end of the day and things will be back to normal tomorrow.

That's a good thing...right?

I felt something warm on top of my hand, "Tabane-san?" I looked down and saw her hand sitting on tope of mine, but she was still looking at the movie excitedly. She didn't even notice it.

Heh, some things never change.

* * *

><p>The time's 5:30, 30 minutes till closing time. Not much time left except for one ride.<p>

"Ik-kun, there's one more ride I wanna go on. Let's go!"

And I'm being dragged somewhere else again. I should get used to this by now. Houki and Rin do it a lot too.

I just hope it's not another roller coaster.

"This isn't what I expected..."

Right now the two of us are sitting side by side on a ferris wheel together. There weren't much people left so it was only us and a few other couples just slowly circling around. I have to admit it feels really relaxing right now.

"Look at the view, Ik-kun, it's so pretty~"

She was looking standing on her knees, looking out the window with a huge smile on her face. The light from the sunset was bathing the small cart we were in, bathing everything in a golden glow.

"Come and look, Ik-kun!" She looked back at me with a huge smile. It's moments like these that make me remember that behind all the mad experiments and the crazy idea's she's just a regular just a regular person.

Just plain old, happy go lucky Tabane Shinonono.

She can be really annoying at times, be really rude, and do things without thinking things through.

But behind all that was a woman who loved her younger sister, cared about her friends, and was generally well meaning.

"See, it's pretty, right?" She pulled me by the hand to look. I didn't even bother trying to resist this time and just laughed along.

"...Wow.."

The view was breathtaking, that's for sure. I could see the entire town lit in a bright golden light, buildings starting to light up as the sun cascaded down the sky slowly, signaling the end of the day. It's kinda sad knowing this is the first and last time we'll be doing something like this together.

By the way, this may sound cliché, but I can see my house from here!

"It's pretty, right?" She looked to me again. I swear my face feels like and oven right now.

"Yeah, you are." I said without really meaning to. Wait, did I just say that?

"Huh?"

"N-Nothing!" I coughed slightly and looked away from her. I really hope she didn't hear that. That was so corny!

"...Ik-kun."

I looked back at her and nearly fell back in shock. Her eyes were closed and she was leaning in slowly. Is this the climax? Am I supposed to lean in too!

"Ik-kun..."

"Argh, damn it!"

I grabbed her by the shoulders and closed my eyes before slowly leaning in. If this is the last chance I'm gonna have to do this then I'm taking it it.

Slowly, ever so slowly, our lips went closer. I could feel a breath just an inch or two from mine.

***Creaaaak***

"Woah!"

"Waaah!"

The circling of the ferris wheel suddenly stopped and we crashed into each other foreheads first. Ow, that hurt!

"_**We're sorry; the ferris wheel is currently experiencing problems, please wait while we do the repairs."**_

Wow...what a moment killer! Me and Tabane-san stared at each other before we started laughing.

"Wh-What was that!" I started laughing and sat back up, helping Tabane-san who was laughing too.

"I don't know, Ik-kun."

We both sat back in out seats and waited for the repairs to finish. We couldn't repeat what just happened, not with that interruption. I quieted down the part of my brain yelling in disappointment. Now's not the time for that.

* * *

><p>"So, I guess this is the end of our date, huh?"<p>

The two of us were at the entrance of the park now. The signal bell showing that the park was crossed blared all around us.

"Yup, thanks a lot Ik-kun~"

"Yeah it was really fun..." Come on you idiot just say it! Just say you wanna go somewhere else with her. Who cares if she's your sister's best friend? Just go for it!

I swallowed and took a deep breath. Alright, I'm going to do it!

"Tabane-sa-"

"Chuuuuuu"

...Huh? What's this soft feeling on my cheek? Wait, this is-

"That's all for now, Ik-kun" She leaned forward and put her hands on top of her head, like a rabbit.

"Uuuuuh...huh?" I was frozen in place. Did that just really happen? Was I getting delusional?

"If you want more, be sure to take me somewhere nice next time!" She started walking away, leaving me there, frozen in place. T-That just happened, right!

"By the way, call me Taba-chan from now on! Tabane-san's too formal."

"..."

Right, need to go home and...look for something new to do.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue:<strong>

At the bushes that sat next to the gate, 3 people sat down. A German woman dressed in a black military uniform, a 12 year old girl wearing a plain white dress, and a man covered from head to in bandages leaning against the wall reading a small book.

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. Remember, O Lord, The Children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem who said, "Raze it, raze it, even to the foundation." O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed. How happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

"Joshy-kins, would you please stop reading that book now? We're doing something important right now." Clarissa complained.

"I fail to see how spying on two young lovebirds would be considered important." He didn't look up from his book and continued reading. The bandages covering his face prevented Clarissa from seeing what his expression was.

"We're not just doing that, we're watching Kuu, too." She pointed at the empty spot next to her.

Wait, empty?

"Where's Kuu-chan!" Clarissa yelled and started looking around the bush frantically, trying to search for the lost girl.

Joshua sighed and pointed at Ichika, who Kuu was talking too. How she had missed the fact that the girl was talking to him he didn't know.

"Ichika-san, do you plan to ask Tabane-sama to go somewhere again?" Kuu looked up at him, eyes open and staring at him curiously.

"Huh... Oh, yeah, I will! ...Maybe?" He didn't really know how to answer her. How could he?

"...I see." She looked confused for a second before looking back up, "Does this mean I should refer to Ichika-san as Ichika-sama from now on?"

"What?" It took him a few seconds to register what she said, "No! No, just...don't. Just call me what you want." Ichika smiled down at her.

She nodded and started walking away, a slight smile on her face.

"See you soon...Papa."

* * *

><p><strong>Please read and review :) My romance is still pretty bad, so I hope this is okay.<strong>

**By the way, a cookie for anyone who can guess who Joshua's a reference for in this chapter.**

**Anyway, review on who you want next to get a chapter.**


	13. Kanzashi 1

**Daydreams chapter for Kanzashi Sarashiki. I'll be splitting this chapter in 2 since cause of recent events. Don't worry, I promise it'll only be 2 chapters at most.**

**Oh, and I'm already doing Charlotte's life arc. Posting a preview at the end here for the new story. Please tell me what you think of it. :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Kanzashi Sarashiki was a Maiden in Love.<p>

To most people who knew her, this would elicit reactions of "Hahahaha, nice joke!" or "Are you sure you're not mistaking her for someone else?".

Ever since she was younger, people have been using her to get closer to her older sister. They would pretend to share her hobbies, her interests, love the same things she did. The list went on and on.

Whether it was guys looking to date her sister, or girls looking to get closer to her "Beloved Onee-sama" or some other such nonsense, she never found herself being the reason people tried to get closer to her. Everyone always wanted something from her.

Now that she thought about it that was the point she and her sister stopped talking to one another. She knew that it wasn't her fault. How could it be? She didn't tell them to do these things. It wasn't her fault that she was better at her than a lot of things, a prodigy, and a natural worker.

She couldn't help being perfect.

Perfect...

To her, she was an existence that that she could never catch up to: The one person who'd always be in front of her no matter how hard she tried. No matter how hard she would study, train herself, or increase her IS aptitude, her sister was always one step ahead. She was sure her parents thought of her as a replacement in case anything happened to her.

This might seem cruel, but it was the honest truth, at least to her. Would her parents care if she were gone? At least they'd still have her perfect sister if she were gone.

She still loved her sister make no mistake about that. Anyone who said otherwise would be in for a world of pain. She was just tired of constantly being compared. Always being in her shadow, the second best, overshadowed.

Still, things weren't all bad. After the failed tag team tournament a couple of weeks ago, she was on speaking terms with her again. Neither of them would admit it, but they were both happy they were at least willing to talk to one another after so long.

Of course, not every problem was solved. After years of drifting apart and (one-sided) jealousy, not everything was going to be sunshine and rainbows just because they wanted it to. Things were going slowly but surely.

The chance to repair their broken relationship was something neither of them would make light of, and they owed it all to one person.

Ichika Orimura.

He was the sole reason they had this chance, and neither of them were going to waste it. Neither of them were blind to the others feelings for him either, but they chose postpone their feelings on it foe now. You can't help who you fall in love with, and both of them fell in love with him.

After the tournament, things went back to normal for her, with some added improvements. Her classmates no longer teased her or thought she was receiving special benfits from her sister. Evidently, they must've heard about her unfinished IS and found out it was the reason she was skipping classes.

She'd also made some friends in the class. Granted the first thing they asked her about was Ichika, but friends all the same. Going out with them to the city or studying together was a feeling she was beginning to enjoy.

Yes, life was good for the younger Sarashiki at the moment. Everything was normal and peaceful.

That is, until that day.

It was a day just like any other. Class was over and everybody felt too lazy to go out of the classroom since the air-conditioner was broken. This left the entire room to be crowded by students.

Kanzashi sighed and turned the next page of the manga she was reading. Ever since the tag tournament she'd found little reason to hide her love of anime and manga. If they didn't like it, then they would have to deal with it.

"Kanzashi."

Today the hero was about to defeat the bad guy of the arc. She had to wake up extra early yesterday to buy the original copy at the shop. Sure, she could just go and download it online on her holo-screen, but there was a certain novelty to flipping through the pages herself.

"Kanzashi?"

Plus, this was the issue where the main heroine was going to confess her love to the hero after he saved her from having to sacrifice herself at the cost of his own eyesight. His sacrifice proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he did care about her even if his emotions were sealed.

"Kanzashi, did you hear what I said?"

As a reward for his self-sacrifice, the God's gave him back his eyesight and allowed him to get his emotions back, though it came with the cost of all his earned powers. Ignoring this, the two of them promised to move on and the girl promised that she would protect the boy this time around.

"...Kanzashi...?"

Of course, the guy was embarrassed about this switch and did his best to try and not be a burden to her. This culminated with him nearly being killed by a monster when he still tried to protect her even without his powers. The girl cried, yelling at him for always putting others above himself, even when he had nothing left.

"Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it."

The chapter ended with the hero saying that he did have something left: Her. If she died, then he would have truly had nothing left. Unfortunately, the chapter ended in a cliffhanger at that point before the girl could give her answer.

"Kanzashi, will you go out with me?"

These words were all that resounded in the crowded classroom. Nearly all the students stared, in shocked silence, as the only boy in the academy crushed their hearts in one fell swoop.

"...Eh?" The girl in question didn't understand what was happening, being too absorbed in her manga.

"Will you go out with me?" The voice sounded familiar.

Closing her book, she looked up only to meet the gaze of the only male in the entire school.

Confusion immediately switched to embarrassment as she realized what she just did. Had she been ignoring him the entire time, too engrossed in the story she was reading to hear his calls?

"...U..." She ducked down, face red and refused to meet his gaze.

On a side note, just about everybody else in the room looked like they got sucker punched when he repeated his question.

"Is that a yes?" He asked, unsure of what her reply meant.

"Um..." She wanted to speak up. Say yes, say no, say whatever, it didn't matter what. It would've been better than staying quiet and looking like an idiot while everybody in class stared at them.

"Well, if you don't want to go then-" His expression turned to a small frown.

She wanted to stop him from leaving, but couldn't find her voice. The confession she tried to do was still fresh in her mind, and even if he didn't understand what she meant, she still felt too embarrassed to talk to him

"Of course she'll go!"

A loud voice pierced the air. Kanzashi felt a pair of arms circle around her shoulder before being pulled out of her seat.

"Come on, Kanzashi-chan, say it clearly!" Kanzashi could recognize that voice from anywhere.

"Karon, what-"

"Hey, hey! Talk to Ichika-san first!"

Unfortunately, there was another thing she knew her friend for: Being nosy when it comes to others and being pushy when she saw something she didn't like.

Deciding not to fight her for it, she took a deep breath and turned back to Ichika.

"I...I'd love to...go" She mumbled softly, barely audible. Thankfully, Ichika seemed to have no problems and nodded gratefully.

"Great! Thanks, Kanzashi! Let's meet at the train station tomorrow at 10:30." Without another word, he left the room with a huge smile plastered on his face. Of course, he ignored the fact that nearly everyone in the room looked to be near tears because of his confession.

"...Wow, that was awkward."

Kanzashi turned and glared at her friend, who raised both her hands up in mock surrender before giving her a toothy grin. She couldn't find it in her heart to be scared, considering Kanzashi looked more like a sad puppy whenever she glared at anyone than a genuine threat.

"Uuuuu...it's all...your fault." She slumped in her seat trying to avoid the shocked stares the others were giving her.

She didn't know what Ichika meant by 'go out', but she had a feeling is what going to be more than just shopping for a carton of milk.

"Well, at least you're on a date~ with him now." Karon smirked and sat down next to her. Kanzashi didn't like the way she emphasized the word 'date' like that.

"Wow, Kanzashi-chan got a date with Orimura-san!"

This voice didn't come from either of them. Rather, it came from a third person.

"Ah, Kanon-chan, did you see how our little Kanzashi handled that like a pro? Yeah, she was playing hard to get."

The three of them were the only ones left in the room right now, the other students following Ichika out.

Karon Gou and Kanon Nakugawa. Two people who shared almost the exact same name but were completely different in just about every other aspect. Karon was energetic, Kanon was reserved. Karon was blunt and honest, Kanon was afraid of hurting people with bad remarks even if they were true. The differences were too many to list

Still, there was one reason they were Karon's closest friends: Neither were interested in Ichika at all. When questioned on this, both of them claimed to have relationships outside of school, though both of them lamented that the guys were 'tsundere' and frequently denied being attracted.

"Kanzashi-chan, do you have any idea what you're going to do?" Kanon spoke up softly, flinching at the glare Kanzashi was sporting. She always looked so scary whenever she did one of those.

"Oh, I know! I bet he's going to take her to that hotel district where all those couples go to nowadays!" Karon laughed slightly as she heard gasps from the outside. They were obviously eavesdropping on their conversation.

"T-T-That wouldn't happen to Kanzashi-chan!" Kanon yelled, face red and steam rising from her ears as images flooded her head.

"Karon...stop it." Kanzashi interrupted, though her face was still red. Did Ichika really have to just come right in, say it, then leave without explaining himself? Honestly, he should have more delicacy for girl's feelings about these kinds of things.

"Haaaah, I wish Yuri-kun would be more honest, like Ichika-san. All he does whenever we go out is look at everybody else except me." She complained, "I mean, I know he's supposed to be some kind of guard and all, but he's even younger than I am. You'd think he'd know how to have fun..."

Ah, here were Karon's usual complaints coming. It at least gave her something to talk about when in class.

"...Maybe...he just doesn't like you." Kanzashi bit out in a sour tone. Yes, she was aware that sounded really harsh, but her friend's comments really weren't helping things.

Her friend took her remark in stride and focused back on her.

"Hehe, calm down Kanzashi-chan. I'm sure he'll take it slowly and won't force anything." She grinned as when Kanzashi's face turned bright red again, "Heck, if anything you'd probably be the one who- Bwaah, don't summon your unit! I was just kidding!"

Another positive thing about having her IS fixed was she could summon at any time. Of course she would never shoot it or anything, but they didn't know that.

"Um, Kanzashi-chan? Summoning your unit might get you a suspension. Please stop." Kanon reminded her.

"..." She didn't say anything, but the fact that she un-summoned her unit said it all.

"A-Anyway, we need to prepare you for your date!" Karon doubled back to her friends desk and slammed both her hands at the table, "It's our duty to be there for you as your friends and confidants!"

"...No thanks." An instant answer with a tone that decreed 'it's final'.

She stood up from her seat and left the room, grabbing her book and ignoring the stares at everyone who was outside the room eavesdropping. She had more important things to do right now.

There was someone she had to visit.

* * *

><p><strong>*Tok* *Tok* *Tok<strong>*

"Come in~"

The door to the clinic opened with a metallic click. Tatenashi looked up, smiling, as her sister entered the room quietly, a small frown on her face.

"Kanashi-chan, what brings you here?" She gave her sister a toothy grin. Visits from her were rare ever since she started attending classes again.

Tatenashi looked better than she had in the past week. Most of the bandages she wore were gone, and her wounds were all but gone. She would be able to leave soon.

"...No reason."

In truth she'd been worried about Ichika asking her for...something. She knew her older sister liked him. While most people would look at her and assume she was just playing with him, Kanzashi could tell there was something there, something deeper than just playful teasing.

When Ichika asked her out, she honestly felt ecstatic. She didn't care if it was only to go window shopping, she would've dropped everything (Well, maybe not everything) and gone with him.

But what about her sister?

She was just getting back together with her sister again. The of them hadn't spoken to each other in years, and the rift that separated them was slowly closing. She loved Ichika, but would it be worth possibly widening the gap again? Was it worth it to possibly lose her sister now that she had her again?

"What's wrong?" Tatenashi looked at her worriedly.

"No...Nothing..." She shook her head left and right quickly. There was no need to worry her sister about this since she was still recovering from that attack a couple of weeks ago. She didn't need more problems apart from the ones she already had.

"Kanzashi-chan, it's better not to lie." Kanzasi was about to deny it but she continued before she could, "Ah, ah ah. Big sister can tell when her cute little sister is having problems. Now, can you tell me what's wrong?"

Kanzashi looked down, unable to speak. Should she tell her? Could she tell her? Would she understand? If she didn't would it mean going back to phase one? Trying to ignore each other again?

"It's alright. You can tell Onee-chan anything, I'll understand." She reached her hand out and patted Kanzashi on the head, "It's the big sister's job to be there for her younger siblings, right?"

"Onee-chan...what if you could get something you really wanted...but what if you might hurt someone you care about to get it?" She asked out hesitantly.

Tatenashi looked thoughtful for a minute before giving her a smile, "Well, I guess it depends on what you're willing to risk. Still, if it's not for sure that you'll hurt someone, isn't it worth the risk?"

"...I'm not sure." She answered in a sad voice.

"Well, just make sure to do what your gut tells you. And if you have any problems, Onee-chan will be here to help."

This was a side of herself she rarely showed to anyone. Beneath all the cheerfulness, perfection, and training, she was still an ordinary person who tried to do her best for those she cared for.

"Mmm...Thanks, Onee-chan." Kanzashi looked at her smiled softly.

That's right, she could always count on her older sister. If they could recover from years of fighting, they could withstand this.

"Oh, that's right, I have a present for you." Tatenashi rummaged under the blanket she used and pulled out a long, wide green woolen cloth.

"Chia chian~ Here's a present from me to you. I spent a few days making it so you better appreciate it~" She handed it to the blushing Kanzashi.

""E-Eh? Ah...thank you." She grabbed it from her sister's hands and examined it carefully, "It looks really nice Onee-chan. This blanket looks comfortable."

The cloth was soft to the touch and emitted a warm radiance. There were some bumps here and there, particularly two large hole like protrusions on the upper right and left side, but it did little to diminish the warm feeling Kanzashi had in her chest.

"Blanket...?" Tatenashi gave her a confused look before she frowned.

"...Huh?" Did she do something wrong? The blanket really did look comfortable, so she wasn't lying when she said that.

"It's supposed to be a sweater..." Her frown turned to a large pout.

Well, that ruined the mood. The warm feeling in her chest disappeared and was replaced by a warm feeling in her face. Was it steaming in there, or was it just her?

_Kimi wa ne tashika ni ano toki watashi no soba ni ita __  
><em>_Itsudatte itsudatte itsudatte sugu yoko de waratteita __  
><em>_Nakushitemo torimodosu kimi wo I will never leave you_

The music resounded within the small room, echoing all around. It took Kanzashi a few seconds to realize what it was.

"O...Oh, got a message." She placed a hand in her skirt pocket and pulled out her phone and flipped it open.

"Kanzashi, get back here now, we need to talk about your date! Love, Karon." The last part was unnecessary considering her number was registered.

"Huh, what's it about?" Tatenashi tried to look at her sister's phone, but she pulled it back and placed it back in her pocket.

"N...Nothing important!" She stood up from her seat and made a rush to the door, "I'll talk to you next time, Onee-chan. Get better soon."

She didn't stop walking till she was right outside the door. As soon as she got out, she took deep breath and slumped against the wall.

She guessed it was time to prepare for her date.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, all that's missing from the canon cast now is Charlotte, Chifuyu, Maya and Madoka. I was going to include Kuu, but I have no idea how that can work at all since she only appeared in one paragraph at the end and it'll basically be OC insertion to make a whole chapter about her.<strong>

**Without further ado, here are two short scenes from the upcoming fanfic, "Synchronicity".**

* * *

><p><strong>Scene 1.<strong>

Narita International airport buzzed with life, people shuffling to and fro to their destinations. The gate's were filled with people, ranging from businessmen in suits to teenagers in vacation wear. In the center of all this writhing chaos, there was a particular young man.

His hair was black, cropped and ended just above his neckline. He looked to be about 15 years of age, give or take, and wore a casual long sleeved black shirt and light colored jeans with black sneakers.

Currently, he was on the phone with someone, and by the looks of it, it wasn't a very pleasant conversation.

"Yes, Chifuyu-nee, I'm sure." His voice sounded tired, irate. Maybe it had something to do with the 75 minute bus trip he had to take just to get here. He never cursed the fact that Odaiba had no airport till now.

"Ichika, it's not too late to turn back now. We can probably still enroll you in a school nearby." A woman's voice replied form the phone.

By the way they talked, it was probable that they were siblings.

"Look, we talked about this; the cooking scholarship I got can help me get a job easier and saves us 3 years worth of tuition fees. If I'm lucky, then I can get a college scholarship too." He argued.

He was honestly surprised when the teacher called him and told him he got a scholarship to a foreign country. He'd spent months poring over books, trying to grasp at least the basics the language had. He wasn't very smart, but he could do a lot when he tried.

"...If you're sure..." The voice sounded sad, very uncharacteristic of her. Ichika felt like someone had just sucker punched him when he heard that.

"Look, it won't be all bad. I'll be back for Christmas and the Holidays, don't worry. I won't be gone long" He tried to re-assure her.

"Yeah...I know." She didn't sound sure of herself, but he already made his choice.

She'd acted markedly different the past few weeks. When he told her about it a few months ago, she assumed it was just exaggeration on his part. As the months closed in, she became more and more worried about it.

Ever since he scheduled his flight a few weeks ago, she'd been adamant in trying to stop him from going. She didn't say it, but he knew she was worried about him ever since that kidnapping incident a few years ago. Her little brother telling her he was leaving to go to a foreign country alone obviously raised warning bells to her.

Still, Ichika was adamant in going, and he couldn't refuse his wishes.

The conversation couldn't continue before an announcement blared out.

"**To all passengers taking the 8:30 pm flight, please board the plane now. We shall be leaving soon."**

"Chifuyu-nee, I have to go. I'll call you back when I'm there!"

"Bye Ichika..."

***Click***

Ichika picked up his luggage and made his way to the bridging area. This was it, he was going to start a new life, at least for the next three years.

"France, here I come!"

* * *

><p><strong>Scene 2<strong>

"So Ichika, what are you planning to do for the sudden two week break"

"I was going to go back home, but I can't find a flight in such a short time." He groaned and scratched the back of his head, "Chifuyu-nee's going to kill me!" He slumped, lapsing back into Japanese.

"Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. If you need a place to hide, you can always stay with me" His voice had some slight mirth on it.

Ichika laughed and placed an arm around his friend's neck. Honestly, he was lucky to have found him.

Due to the societal shift from the IS, females' place in society skyrocketed. This included education and building priority. Going to an advanced school in France, the number of males in the entire school was really low. He was worried he was going to be friendless and without male companionship for the next three years.

That is, till he met Charles Dunoa. Despite looking like one of the social elite, Charles was considered a mystery. Many girls tried to get close to him due to his charm and elegance while (the really rare) guys tried to befriend him and get on his good graces. Despite all this, he remained distant to most people.

Until ichika befriended him, that is. Really, he just counted himself lucky he found a friend he could count on. Maybe the fact that they were the only two males in their class had something to do with their fast friendship.

"Hey, quit it!" Charles laughed alongside him and pushed his arm off, trying to diminish the redness in his face.

The two of them kept walking, chatting about the most mundane things, until they finally reached the tall building in the center of the town.

"Dunoa Industries. You know, being the son of the best IS producers in the country must be pretty nice." He said, marveling at the size of the building. This place looked nothing like the humble houses he was used to.

"Nah, not really." He waved his hands in front of his face dismissively. Another thing Ichika liked about him was that he was modest, especially at school. Having so many fangirls yet staying pilot and approachable at the same time. He was probably the perfect gentleman.

"You wanna go in? I'm sure nobody will mind if I bring in a friend." Charles offered.

"Nah, I have to go somewhere." Ichika pulled out his phone and looked at the time, "I met a girl yesterday and accidentally smashed her groceries. I offered to cook for her tonight as a way to make up." He bonked himself on the head playfully and pocketed his phone again. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon.

Ichika turned to leave and go back the opposite way before a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Ichika, where did you say you met this girl?" Charles asked somewhat suspiciously.

"What, jealous?" Ichika grinned at Charles, receiving a smack in return and a blush from him.

"Can you just tell me? I just wanna know." Charles gave him a pout, one he knew he couldn't resist. No one could.

"Alright fine, I met her at the supermarket on the way back to the dorms. I didn't really get a good look at her face since she had a big hat and all," Ichika double checked his wallet to make sure he had enough to buy replace the lost product.

"I asked if we could meet up so I could pay her back for the food. She had to run out since she was apparently rushing. I don't think she got a good look at my face either. Hope I have no problems finding her." Ichika clarified.

"I...I see." For some reason, Charles gulped nervously. Was he getting sick? "C-Could you tell me her name?" He looked like he dreaded knowing the answer.

"Hm? Oh, her name's Charlotte. Don't know her last name."

* * *

><p><strong>Please tell me what you think.<strong>


End file.
